The colourful history of video games [infographic]

Over at COLOURlovers there's a very attractive infographic which ties in nicely with some of the issues I was talking about in one of our undergraduate modules last week (MAC129 and MED102), when we looked at the historical representations within video games. I thought some readers might like the infographic too. The artists responsible for this is Darius A Monsef IV. For the best view, click here:

On the problems of format exclusive DLC...

We might want to file this one under 'rant'...

It's not often that I stop to think about the ways in which games companies shoot themselves in the foot but today I had one of those moments. I had been reading through the recent press releases for Bethesda's Fallout 3 downloadable content (DLC), entitled Broken Steel. This is the third release to date which extends the world of Fallout 3, following Operation Anchorage and The Pitt.

Unlike the previous two releases, Broken Steel, promises to take place where the original game left off. The other games were set in the same post-apocalyptic game world as Fallout 3 but they deviated from the original title somewhat. Broken Steel allows you to increase your character's skill level to 30, beyond the original 20, and also brings with it other various perks. That is, if you have any version of the game that isn't PS3.

Having games be exclusive to a particular system is not a new thing. In fact, it was a big part of Sony's success with the original Playstation and its successor, and may have even been pivotal in platform purchase decisions. That can make a lot of sense in terms of a large scale marketing campaign focusing on brand exclusivity, but I'm not convinced the same thing can be said of smaller DLC.

The problem...

This is where my problem begins. The press release material all sounded pretty attractive to me - I am more than happy to buy additional content for those games I have enjoyed playing, especially if they promise to extend the pleasure of that experience or offer added value. However, I own a PS3 and a Mac, not an Xbox 360 or a PC where the DLC is going to be headed.

None of the DLC has been available to date for the PS3. The reasons for this? Unknown, although rumours of a deal between Microsoft and Bethesda are littered across various gaming sites. IGN reported back in July 2008 that Bethesda's Todd Howard promised "extensive" DLC for Xbox and Games For Windows. No official announcement was made at the time as to why the PS3 was excluded. Edge carried a story around the same time in which Colin Sebastain of Lazard Capital Markets remarked thus:

"...I think it's a very good possibility that Microsoft and Bethesda were partners in this decision. Obviously Microsoft paid up to secure exclusive online content for GTA IV, and online is a cornerstone for Microsoft's digital media strategy."

In the same article, Bethesda's marketing boss Peter Hines is quoted as saying:

"...We aren’t going to get into the details of the hows and whys," said Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines in an e-mail. "[DLC] will be exclusive for PC and 360. [We're] not going to give any other qualifiers or clarifications as it relates to other platforms."

Incentive to buy?

As you can see, Fallout 3 is by no means an exception. Microsoft signed an exclusive deal with Rockstar so they get the GTA IV DLC on their platform. Now, I have to ask, who really benefits from this kind of exclusivity deal? Do Microsoft really gain that much by securing the rights to exclusive DLC content? Do the game developers gain from the cash tie-in which denies one platform? I enjoyed both GTA IV and Fallout 3 and would gladly buy the DLC if it were available. However, one platform having exclusive DLC whilst another does not is not enough to make me buy that machine over the other.

The only solution it would seem, is to buy an Xbox 360, then buy the games I already own, then buy the DLC. As you can imagine that is not something most consumers in the middle of a global recession are likely to do just to play an extra few hours worth of content. A quick estimate of exactly how much this would cost from Amazon goes to show you the potential implications:

• Xbox 360 60GB - £159.99
• Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter - £50.92
• Fallout 3 - £27.99
• Total - £238.90

I had to include Wireless Network Adapter as I'd be unable to connect my machine to my wi-fi router any other way, and I had to include an Xbox 360 which has a hard drive to download content onto. I excluded the cost of the DLC as that would be paid for on either format for the sake of this example. I also excluded the cost of Xbox Live Gold subscription which wasn't needed to get the DLC. The free Silver package is fine.

Almost £240 to play the DLC is beyond reasonable. Not everyone can afford to buy two machines. Not everyone can have the foresight to know which companies are going to get which exclusives, or which games are going to be so enjoyable you will want to buy more expansion packs. Not everyone who buys a games console is aware of the past deals signed between developers and manufacturers.

I make these points to highlight the shortfalls of DLC exclusives. DLC will seldom be a major purchasing factor when people decide which of the largely similar consoles they will opt to spend their money on. It may play a role, but not the deciding role. Therefore, I ask who actually wins and who loses as a result of these exclusive deals?

And the winners are...

I can only guess that the developers win in the short term by virtue of receiving a cheque from Microsoft. Microsoft may stand to win a small PR battle over Sony, but there are other areas in which they may lose out (Blu-ray functionality; cheap expandable storage; etc). The real losers here are the gamers who can't access the content they would gladly buy because of a format battle (one which is actually good for games in that it fosters competition and technological advancement).

Each of the Fallout DLC costs about £10 (or 800 Microsoft Gamer Points). That's £30 that Bethesda will not be getting from me or from the other angry PS3 owners who would have made excellent customers. Who's winning now?

Far Cry 2 southern map (Bowa-Seko)

Apologies for the indulgent post, but this post is mainly for people having problems locating diamonds in the game Far Cry 2. Very little else. There's a small, scaled-down version below but you find a bigger file after the break.

After looking around the web I couldn't find a complete map of the south section (Bowa-Seko) of Far Cry 2, showing the diamond locations, etc. I could find lots of small subsection based maps so I quickly chopped them up and edited them into a larger 3x3 map which can be found as an attachment on this page.

It's not great but it might be a useful guide for other players.
You can download a 1200x1200 jpeg version from here. The file is about 1.3mb in size.

Raptr: gaming social network site goes public

It would seem that Raptr, a new social networking site (SNS) dedicated to gaming, has gone live this week after raising $12 million in capital. The site first launched as a closed community in February 2008 whist testing was underway, but now it's free to join for all gamers. It looks like the move towards specialist niche SNS has taken a step forward with the addition of this gaming-focused portal. We've already got sites dedicated to music (Last.FM), photography (Flickr), and video (Youtube), so it makes sense to include a past time which is growing in popularity.

I picked up on details of the launch via the good people at Gamasutra, who are reporting that Raptr 'works with thousands of games across multiple platforms including PC, Mac, Xbox 360, Facebook, Flash, Wii, and PlayStation 3'. The site enables users to track their own gameplay as well as that of their friends in real time. You can share gaming identities and achievements, and exchange tastes and other activities via social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed. I've configured Raptr to work with my Twitter account but had a little trouble getting the Facebook application to work. You can also download and install a desktop client for computers, which works on the free Adobe Air platform.

Raptr was founded in 2007 by Xfire co-founder Dennis Fong. Xfire is a useful tool for enabling PC game players to send messages to each other even when a game is running. This has distinct advantages over using something like MSN Messenger which would force the game window to minimize to the Taskbar. It also enables you to see what games and which servers your friends were playing on in real time. Raptr looks to give the messaging service a community feel. You can follow the development of the site over at the Raptr blog.

You can find me there going under the under the 'robbo1337' moniker. I have yet to play any games since signing up for the service so my Raptr page is a little barren at the minute. I was also unable to import my Hotmail Live address book to add friends... I look like Billy-No-Mates over there. I almost give credence to the myth of the loner gamer.

Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer and narrative drives

I stumbled over a short piece on the CVG website which was previewing some early footage of a forthcoming PS3 adventure game, Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer (Quantic Dreams), which seemed very interesting. The game places the player in the position of a female investigative journalist who discovers the house of a suspected murderer.

There were two major things mentioned in the article which piqued my interest - how the player negotiates the game world and how the narrative progresses in relation to the former.

Apparently the game has a lot in common with classic titles like the Sega Dreamcast's Shenmue, in that the player has a great deal of control over how their avatar negotiates the game world, with multiple approaches to numerous problems and encounters they face. The degree of interaction with the world afforded to the player is supposedly unparalleled:

The whole game places emphasis on choice and making true-to-life decisions. For example, when you approach the house you get the choice of whether to knock or ring the doorbell. Speech appears around a SixAxis-shaped icon and you can choose to speak as you knock by tilting the pad in the direction of the phrase you want to say.

One sequence features a scenario where the journalist penetrates the killer's house and makes a grisly discovery, only for the killer to return home. The outcome of this scenario depends on how the player tackles this situation. Should they decide to make a run for it, then the killer may hear and give chase, or should they decide to tackle him, then a fight may ensue. They could even kill him there and then which would typically lead to the conclusion of a typical narrative adventure, however,

The real interesting thing is that Quantic Dreams promises that, no matter what happens, the story will progress, whether you kill him, escape or are killed yourself. Yes, even the main character can be killed and the story will continue, says Quantic.

Now, an immersive environment is one thing, but this type of story developemnt points to what might be a unique experience, and has an ally in the forthcoming game, Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft). The CVG article suggested that the developers of Heavy Rain were remaining tight lipped at the moment although "the whole plot is effected by every scene that you play, and your actions have consequences on the entire story" which bears a striking resemblance to some of the claims made about Far Cry 2. Michael Abbott post an interesting article on a similar theme recently and is well worth reading.

The potential for games to create new forms of immersive storytelling are looking brighter and brighter. This is another game I'm going to have to keep my eyes on in future.

Are the Daily Mail suitable moral guardians?

Of course, the answer is emphatically "no!" but I have to ask this question after being alerted to another game-hating article from them. C&VG highlighted that fact that the forthcoming game, MadWorld from Platinum Games, has come under fire from watchdog pressure groups who are calling on the title to be banned. The monochrome title has an adult-appropriate level of violence interspersed with comic book style moments of excess. Think Sin City mixed with the 1960s TV version of Batman & Robin.

Which pressure group is behind the push? It's only Mediawatch-uk. They are favourite moral guardians for the Daily Mail so no surprises there. The report reads:

A new computer game tipped to be the most violent ever is being released exclusively on the so-called 'family friendly' Wii console.

Nintendo will dramatically transform Wii's image with the release of ultra violent video game MadWorld which, 'revolves around the themes of brutality and exhilaration', according to its creators.

Fantastic. Just when the Wii was beginning to diversify and offer content for the more mature gamer, the pressure groups decide that this isn't acceptable on a 'family friendly' platform. Great. I wonder whether the Wii is a victim of its own success in that Nintendo tried to change the public perception of gaming only to limit itself to games that look, er, cute (for want of a better word).

The Wii does already have some adult orientated titles, some of which are damn good. I'm thinking of Resident Evil 4, No More Heroes, Manhunt 2, etc. Okay, so maybe Manhunt 2 is not so good - I wouldn't know saying as it isn't available in the UK yet despite heavy cuts in order to meet the BBFC's demands. All of these titles are third party releases for the Wii - Nintendo doesn't need to make these titles in order to be successful.

I'm a little angry at not being able to even try Manhunt 2 because it deemed too much. No More Heroes, with its excessive gore was cut in the UK market with the executions toned down. When I learned of that, it actually made me not want to buy the game. I want to play adult titles on my machine but the morale opprobrium which besets such titles, often from a moralising media, acts to stifle choice. This was one of the reasons I ended up buying a PS3. That machine isn't beset by the problem of the family friendly title and can get away with more.

For my MAC281 students doing the digital games question...

... You might want to check out this post from Game-ism.com. It talks about the pros and cons of ludic and narrative elements of gaming, and even refers to Clint Hocking's piece on Bioshock.

HINT HINT HINT

OK, normal service may resume

Game design versus player control?

Gamasutra has an article which caught my attention today. I thought it might be useful for my MAC281 students who I will be meeting with tomorrow to discuss game design and narrative developments.

The article is by John Rose, a gameplay programmer at Nihilistic Software. He is also a contributing author to the 2004 book Software Engineering for Game Developers.

Converse to a recent lecture I gave which praised open-world games, (aka the 'sandbox' game) for their ability to allow player freedom, Rose argues that sometimes, simplicity and limited choice is better for the play aesthetic. I recently enjoyed reading Clint Hocking's thoughts on the problems of games like Bioshock in their offering the player a moral maze to navigate - one that might clash with the premise of who the lead character is actually meant to be.

Rose has claimed:

A recent trend in games is the ability of players to "play their own way." It's a design choice that includes more mechanics than any particular player will explore in a single playthrough. While superficially this seems like the Holy Grail of game design, the idea merely passes on the entertainment responsibility to the player. These games include a myriad of mechanics in the hope that the player will find some to suit him.

I argue that a few well-developed game mechanics in a strong play aesthetic will always be more enjoyable. Players ultimately want to learn and triumph over a system. But the inclusion of too many mechanics only serves to de-systemize the game.

It sounds a little like the utopian idealism of interactive fiction which Jesper Juul critiqued in his early work. Too often, the pleasure of the fiction lies in the progressive development of a coherent narrative, although it doesn't always have to be this way.

Rose goes on to suggest that Bioshock confuses players because it gives the player too much choice: choice over weapons, plasmid powers, hacking, stealth elements, etc. This is different critique to that of Hocking, which deals more with the 'Ludonarrative Dissonance' of either harvesting or saving the Little Sisters. I'm not sure I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment that Bioshock suffers from a diluted design strategy given its critical reception. I agree with most of his other claims about solid gameplay and logical gaming mechanics. I'm not sure quite what he would make of Far Cry 2...

Anyway, his article is well worth reading. You can view a counter arguement to his logic in Christopher Kline's presentation from IGDA 2007 below. It's entitled 'Saying "Yes" to the player'

Game theory from game developers?

I noticed that Keith Stuart on the Gamesblog over at the Guardian's tech pages recently wrote a short piece on game theory. I'm currently in the process of writing a lecture on approaches to studying digital games for MAC281 and was wondering how the students were going to take to what can be quite an abstract debate with seemingly little real world relevance.

It's not often that debates surrounding ludology and/or narratology make it in the mainstream media. They tend to be the obsession of academics within the emergent discipline of Game Studies, so it was reassuring to see Stuart's story. There has been polarised debate surrounding the two terms - narratology comes from wider studies within the arts which considers the significance of narrative, whilst ludology privileges the significance of gameplay and experience.

Academics like Frans Mäyrä seek a multi-disciplinary approach. However, Clint Hocking the developer for the forthcoming Far Cry 2 has recently took a pop at the game Bioshock for what he calls 'ludonarrative dissonance' on his blog. It is well worth reading as Hocking presents a valid argument. Bioshock has been lauded for the fact that it offers the player multiple trajectories throughout the game based upon key moral choices, yet the narrative drive of the game's programme offers some contradiction to the option of free choice.

Hocking's position seems much more than a rant directed at a competitor, although it does veer in that direction in a few places. Far Cry 2 is looking to address the problem that the intersection between narratology and ludic accounts offer by offering layers much more freedom of choice. (Far Cry 2 is due out on Xbox 360 and PS3 in Autumn 2008).

The Byron Review

In case you missed it, back in September 2007 the UK government commissioned a review of the risks children faced from exposure to harmful or inappropriate material on the internet or in video games. As someone who has researched and taught in the area of 'media effects' myself I was expecting the typical tirade of simplification and behavourist assumptions that tend to dog these types of investigations.

I have to admit that I was a little bit dubious as to the outcome of Dr Tanya Byron's review. However, it seems I need not have been so concerned as the study seems to have been very well considered and quite constrained. I think Byron and her team deserve some praise and recognition for a balanced review.

I have not managed to read the full review document yet, so I may still change my mind, but I am impressed with what I have seen thus far. Of course, there are bound to be a few fall outs from the findings - in particular the advice for a hybrid rating system for games under and over the suggested 12 certificate may lead to more parental confusion than assist them in making informed decisions but one could argue that the present combination of BBFC and PEGI advise already does that.

The full report can be found here