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GameSpot Soapbox - Rants and ravings about the gaming industry

  • dannyodwyer – Gamespot Staff n00b - Week One

    As a long time member of the community I thought it would be cool to post about my transition to the staff, so from time to time I'm going to blog about my experiences at Gamespot UK. Apologies if this seems self-congratulatory or vain, that's not the goal. I just think this is something I would have enjoyed reading myself a few years ago.

    Staff EmblemMy first real job was some Christmas work in an independent game shop in my home town. It was run by a twenty-something chap called Keith who took me on initially as part of a school work experience program. Apparently I wasn't too awful so he asked me to stay on for an extra three weeks of paid work. I'd wake up, wrap myself up in my winter jacked and practically skip down the hill to work. I loved that job, and I'd spend entire weekends looking forward to clocking in on Monday. Fourteen year old Danny had tasted something very dangerous, and something I've strived to find again ever since; a dream job.

    I actually hate the phrase "dream job". It's too reductive. Ask a child their dream job and you're sure to hear some interesting ideas. Chocolate taster, bunny rubber, power ranger, John Terry. For adults it's a lot more complex. You want to be challenged, but passionate enough about the work that you push yourself to succeed. Hard jobs are challenging but stressful and easy jobs are simple but boring. The ones in the middle have nothing going for them.

    So when I talk about how satisfying my first week in Gamespot UK was, it's may not be for the reasons you could assume. Last week I learned more about the industry and the art than I could working on my own projects. Instead of doubting a choice, I asked a question and got an informed answer. Instead of working solo, I collaborated with talented people to create something better. I work in a place surrounded by by talented people, but with the tools and a support network to achieve that level of talent myself. I've never been to excited and hungry to work in my life. It's a pretty amazing feeling.

    Though I mostly shadowed people and acted like a info-sponge this week, I did get the opportunity to shout at Johnny while working the autocue on Friday and I edited this weeks episode of Super Start Select. Well except the Assasins Creed feature which, lets be honest, is best edited part of the show!

    I also spent some time in the downstairs green room, getting familiar with the cameras and studio and even got some time on the roof where Appetite for Distraction is shot in between disruptive helicopters flying overhead.

    I'll be making more on-screen contributions to the Gamespot UK output over the coming weeks, but at the moment I'm enjoying getting my Final Cut X skills up to scratch and helping with the guy's workload whenever I can. I've yet to play on the CBS Interactive pool table, but the Gamespot UK arcade machine has been getting some lunchtime action.

    So that's enough for this week, my new central London flat that's dustier than a witches armpit so it's time I got back to cleaning. If you have any questions stick them down below and I'll be glad to answer. Looking forward to getting back on Xbox Live over the next week, whenever my TV arrives back here from Ireland. Haven't played online in 2 months, so I'm looking forward to getting my ass handed to me for a few weeks

    For now though, I'm just looking forward to Monday.

    Twitter: @dannyodwyer

  • carolynmichelle – Story Reflections: Bastion--On the Brink of the New World

    Note: This is the first in what I hope to make an irregular ongoing series of entries about the narratives in games that I find interesting for whatever reason. These are my own reflections on the story, with mentions of films, TV shows and other games that I was reminded of while playing. I invite you to share your own associations and responses in the comments. Please be aware that I discuss the game's story (including its ending) in detail. If you intend to play Bastion, I strongly advise finishing the game before reading this entry.

    ---

    "The Old World's finished, but the New World's just getting started."
    --Rucks

    Bastion isn't a Western in the traditional sense, but I think of it first and foremost as a frontier story. The music on the title screen helps set this tone, with a sound that suggests the frontier in much the same way that, for instance, the title music for the outstanding HBO show Deadwood did. Bastion's characters are thrown into life on the brink of a new world; one which, like all new worlds, is borne out of tremendous upheaval.

    Bastion begins in a moment of crisis, with its hero, The Kid, awakening to find that the world around him is no more. I was reminded of the terrific opening of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, in which Link wakes on a stormy night to find his kingdom in crisis, and has no choice but to take action. These openings make both Link and the Kid more relatable.They don't set out to be heroes. They are chosen by circumstance, the mantle of the hero not chosen by them, but thrust upon them.

    Immediately, a narrator begins to tell The Kid's tale, commenting on your actions as you play. He narrates with a Tom Waits-ian raspiness that suggests he has lived through much, and with a melancholy poetry ("Blasted things hurt like a broken heart.") that I think Tom Waits himself would approve of. Initially, I thought that the narrator was removed from the story, an omniscient sort telling the story but not involved in it, though you learn soon enough that this isn't the case. The narrator is Rucks, designer of the Bastion and one of the very few people left alive after the world-destroying Calamity.

    Tom Waits, staring into your very soul

    As you venture from area to area to recover the cores and shards that will make the Bastion thrive, Rucks comments not only on your behavior, but on the history of what these now-shattered places once were. Mentions of places like the Boundless Sea and groups like the Marshals economically suggest a rich history for the now-shattered Caelondia without the game needing to pause and elaborate on it. Throughout the game, a sense of history lends the action more meaning, as in one area in which you must ride on a ship for a while. This could easily have been a nameless floating platform, but it isn't. It's Weepin' Nellie, and this simple act of giving her a name suggests that she has a history of her own, that if she could speak, she'd have some stirring tales to tell. And it makes her sacrifice mean something.

    "With her last breath, Nellie gets the Kid to solid ground."


    Every catastrophe needs to be mourned, and Bastion acknowledges this with the Memorial, which is described as "A necessary testament to the Calamity. By paying tribute to the past one may better prepare for the future." Completing the vigils therein rewards you with experience and currency, but for me, the real reward was Rucks' somber acknowledgment of the lost past that accompanied each completion.

    "To the families of the City, all reunited."

    As you progress, the Bastion becomes populated with new creatures you encounter on your journey, like a squirt and an anklegator, and I was happily reminded of Super Mario Galaxy 2, and the way that, as you progress in that game, your spaceship becomes home to an increasingly diverse menagerie of creatures. It made both the spaceship and the Bastion feel more like home. And when, after an attack on the Bastion, Rucks informed me that our brave little squirt didn't make it, I felt the loss.

    Like the Bastion, Mario's spaceship becomes more populated as you progress.


    Ultimately, you come into possession of a powerful weapon called the Calamity Cannon, and with it, you can lay waste to the assaulting Ura with relative ease. Many games have moments like this, but where such moments typically carry with them a feeling of unfettered satisfaction and glee in your new-found power, in Bastion, I felt guilty. Thanks to greed and mistrust, the Ura had both wronged and been wronged, like all peoples. They are not evil, and the conflict with them is a tragic one.

    At first, I thought that Rucks was simply telling the tale to me, the player, but occasional hints—particularly his use of the word "ma'am" on a few occasions—planted the suspicion in me that perhaps we were hearing him tell the tale to Zia, and this turned out to be the case. Playing through the game a second time, I picked up on things that flew over my head the first time. For instance, when the Kid lands in the area where he encounters Zia for the first time, Rucks says "You should remember this next part." The first time through, I took this to mean that this was a particularly important occurrence and I should make a point of remembering it, but what he really means is, "You were there. This involves you." This device of Rucks telling Zia the tale, when the Kid has left on his long journey for the final shard, fosters a connection between us and Zia—we are hearing the story just as she is—even while we are also connected directly to the Kid by our control of his actions.

    For me, that identification with Zia made the final moments of Bastion more personal. It all comes down to a choice. Speaking of frontier stories, I was reminded powerfully of the moral quandary raised by the second and third Star Trek films: Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, as Spock insists in the second film? Rucks represents this idea here. Or do the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many, as Kirk tells his friend in the third film? Here, that idea is embodied by Zia.

    Spock believed that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the one.


    It's not an easy question, and of course, because the Bastion's ability to revert to a previous world state can't be tested, this function's implications are impossible to determine. If it simply "loads an earlier save game" for the world and nobody—not the Kid or Zia or Rucks or Zulf—remembers what happened, then I don't see how things will happen any differently. It seems to me that, all things being the same, the same outcome is inevitable. I don't know, maybe there are multiple possible outcomes from the exact same circumstance. Maybe in one universe, I go get an egg salad sandwich from The Sentinel for lunch, while in another, identical universe, I take another path and eat the soup I brought from home, and in another, I walk to the beach and just start eating sand. But I don't believe that's how it works. It seems to me that using this option on the Bastion may just result in an infinite loop in which the Calamity is undone and occurs again. When starting a New Game +, you hear an echo of Rucks' words from this ending at the very beginning, which to me hints at the possibility that this is exactly what has happened. However, Rucks believes that the characters may recall their time on the Bastion. If they do, then of course they would be empowered to make different choices and might make the world, and their lives, better.

    But strangely, the choice I felt better about making was not the one in which the Calamity was undone, but the one in which the small band of survivors set out into the new frontier. Perhaps, with the lessons they've learned, they can forge a better world. Or perhaps not. Perhaps humankind's greed and distrust make periodic calamities inevitable. But I don't think there is wisdom in denying or trying to undue catastrophes, no matter how costly. I guess what it comes down to for me is that here, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many, and that sometimes you just have to say:

    "Bye bye old world
    Gotta help the new world
    Oh bye bye
    I say bye bye bye bye old world"
    --The Modern Lovers, "Old World"

  • Chris_Watters – Comic-Con Regrets

    Well, I'm back. After five days in San Diego and a few back in the office, I've had some time to reflect on my experiences at Comic-Con this year. I shared a bunch of them in the HotSpot, conveying mostly my affinity for the convention and the kind of atmosphere it engenders. But, despite all the fun I had hosting hours of live video and walking the show floor, there are some things that have stayed with me that I wish I'd done differently. So read on, dear reader, to read a reasonably readable list of some of my Comic-Con regrets.

    1. Not taking a free pedicab ride. There were rows and rows of eager young bicyclists ready to haul me around the Gaslamp District in kingly fashion, yet I ignored them. I was happy to stretch my legs after hours in the Hard Rock suite/studio, though I can't say the same for some of my griping co-workers - four blocks isn't that far to walk for dinner, folks! It was the sponsored ones that offered free rides that I wish I had ridden, if only to lord my luxury over all whom I surveyed.

    2. Not talking to Danny Pudi. So I sidled up to a urinal to make good use of it, and shortly realized that I was relieving myself next to Abed from the NBC comedy, Community. "Hey dude, I love your work on the show! We always quote your character in the office the day after a new episode! My wife and I are huge fans! You rock! Troy and Abed in tha MOOORnin'!" All of these lines remained unspoken as I evacuated my bladder in silence. By the time I was done, he was gone. Strangers At A Urinal Code upheld, opportunity missed.

    3. Not buying books with pictures in them. This oversight was driven home when I unveiled my show floor haul to GameSpot EIC Ricardo Torres, who instantly admonished me for buying only books with words. I was happy with my purchases: a cheap copy of A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (gotta see what all the hype is about) and Embassytown by China Mieville, a modern British fantasy author who is one of my favorites. But c'mon! It's COMIC-Con! No comics? Not even a graphic novel?! In my defense, I would have grabbed some Buffy and Angel & Faith from the Dark Horse store, but the line was really long. Like, soo long. Not much of a defense, I know.

    4. Not seeing Joss Whedon or David Jaffe. As you may have gathered, I'm a fan of Joss Whedon, and when I saw him three Comic-Cons (Comics-Con? No, Comic-Cons.) ago, I really enjoyed it. So when Community Maven Synthia came back to the work room late one night with a signed poster and news of more Dr. Horrible, I sighed a heavy sigh of regret. I would have loved to see the Twisted Metal panel, too. I'm not a big fan or anything, but David Jaffe is very passionate about the stuff he works on and has a lot of respect for the fans. I really enjoyed seeing him talk last year. This year, I had to content myself with watching the Twisted Metal panel video we shot.

    5. Not buying this Martin Hsu print. I mean, look at it. So pretty! So colorful! So whimsical! So I-really-don't-have-a-good-place-for-it-in-my-apartment!

    6. Not rebuking the Lord of the Rings: War in the North player during Tonight on the Spot. Check out that dude I talked to starting around five minutes in. He's all, The Lord of the Rings is super wordy! And I'm all, whatever dude your game froze I gotta go! And I shoulda been all, if you don't appreciate the elaborate world-building of a true literary master than maybe you should just hold your tongue, knave! Buuut I didn't. Ah well. Check it out below, and keep watching to see me, Jody, and Maxwell pose with Gandalf. True story.

  • JodyR – Gamer Trait Admiration

    I'll shamefully admit that I admired or respected PC gamers more than any other in the past. I might have started as a console gamer with my brothers and father, but once I grew up my perspective changed. It was always like the PC community were the popular kids at school, if you can understand what I mean. The gamers who played strategy and shooters caught my eye the most based on different traits. I was also heavily involved with these communities, so there's just certain kinds of gamers that stood out among the others.

    These days there are many different traits I admire about gamers, and I'm happy to say it's not all about PC gamers anymore. I'd like to share these gamer traits I admire with you.

    Note: Unless I've met female gamers frequently in-games or in person, which is still kind of rare, most of the descriptions have he/him.

    The Humble MadSkillz
    This gamer doesn't go out of his way to say he's the best in the chatrooms, voice chat,, forums, or anywhere really. Without realizing it, this gamer uses the actions speak louder than words concept. He's humble about his skills because he's seen better, probably. He'll join the game and just own everyone or maybe he's just the best teammate you'll ever have. In my time, I've met so many gamers like him online. I've also had the pleasure to meet them in person. Often times they are just as humble in person as online. These gamers also never stay in a game with people who aren't good as them. You might see them join a game, and once it's finished they will find another one that meets their skill set. Everyone wants to be this gamer, but sometimes it comes naturally or with tons of practice, or both. This gamer often gets accused of being a cheater because they are unbelievably that good. Once this gamer does go to a LAN party, they are skills are validated when they use another person's computer or console. Obviously, word spreads across the community that this dude is for real, and he sometimes becomes a legend among that community.

    The Game Trainer
    This gamer isn't an actual trainer, and they aren't always the best at the game. For instance, I've been able to tear them to pieces once they've taught me the basics. They just know a lot about the game. I've met so many gamers with these traits, but sadly, they were mostly found with communities like the Quake, JediKnight, Command & Conquer, and Unreal Tournament. With my experience in console communities these gamers are rare to find. This gamer tends to make you feel important without realizing it. When you are lost in an online game as a new player, they'll go out of their way to help even if they are going to get heckled by others for helping. Sometimes, they'll take you to another server or game just to help out. I'm always impressed with their courage in facing the trolls and taunting. It's almost like you become their mission, and the only thing that matters at that time is to train you to be the best out there. Some of these gamers have been playing that game for so many years that it's always a pleasure to meet new players, so maybe that's why they do it.

    The Silent Mystery
    This gamer often reminds me of the guy in the mask, kind of like Batman. He's always there in the game. He's not the best of all of the players but he has some decent skills. He'll back you up as a teammate better than most because he knows the objective. He kind of follows you around in the game to cover you, but he doesn't use voice chat nor does he use text to communicate. His actions are there in the game so you know that he hears your voice and reads your text in chat because he reacts to what is being said. Maybe he just doesn't like to chat or use voice chat? Either way, he's the kind of the gamer that you want to know better because you'll miss him as a teammate. Actually, I have met some Silent Mystery gamers in person, and they are either super outgoing, or super shy. It's hit or miss.

    The Classy Joker
    This gamer might be in abundance among the console communities these days, but the classy joker isn't about taunting and beating his chest. He'll play tricks or make jokes about what's happening in the game. When you're new to a community, this gamer is annoying. But, if you've been around a community for so long, you'll find that he's just going to make redundancy in a game more exciting.

    The Creator
    The gamer that can create his own levels, character models, modifications, or game really should be admired. They can bring a game that you've played for years into a new scenario, objective, or surrounding. These gamers aren't always the best at playing the original game, or even their own creations, but it's a pleasure to establish friendships with them. They'll let you check out their projects in development and share screenshots of what they plan on doing. I have met so many in my time from multiple shooter and strategy game communities.

    The Decent Lady Gamer
    She's classy, and doesn't go bragging in every occasion that she's female, but most people know it. She might not always be the best player at certain games, but works towards becoming better at the games. I'd say this gamer often has tons of friends without trying to. She'll help others in the game if they are lost, might even taunt the trolls back in the game, but for the most part, she likes to be everyone's friend. This gamer might be in an all female clan and considered motherly to female gamers. But, she's also been found in coed teams with kind of that motherly attitude to everyone in the clan. I admire this gamer because she might be sassy at times, but she's always missed by everyone when she's not around. The console game communities have these female gamer more than ever before. There were some rare gems from the Unreal Tournament, Quake, Half-Life, Delta Force, RTCW: Enemy Territory game communities.

    Denial of Being a Female Gamer
    This lady gamer is pretty classy at what they do. Sometimes you never know that they've been female all along. They don't strut around telling people that they are female because they'd prefer being treated equally. They'll also go out of their way to never be associated to any female gamers that share that they are a game girl in every occasion they get. You will not see this female gamer in a girl only clan. I've had the pleasure to meet these kinds of ladies in person to find that they are pretty good at the game. One downside though, these gamers rarely can get along with any girls online or in person because they just can't stand these personality types. It also takes a while for another female gamer to prove that they are in it for the games. The best of them will just ignore the "I'm a game girl" personality types though.

    The Social Gamer
    He/she's your best friend, and maybe good enough at the games, but often found starting discussions and later finishing them up after the game is over in the chatroom or in person. This gamer is the kind you want to hang out in person at a LAN party, convention, but you'll NEVER get better playing him/her. But, you'll play every new game with this gamer because he/she buys them and wants to play. [Hah, I'm so going to get punched in the arm by numerous gamer friends over this one. *hides*]

    The Once Upon A Time, Hater
    This gamer happens to be your best gamer friend later, and often falls under the Social Gamer category by then. He'll cause a scene in the game or in any community you deal with because he doesn't believe you play games. He'll try everything to prove that you aren't. Often times meeting these gamers in person resolves the problem, especially at a LAN party. Once these gamers see you in the game, and sitting across from them, and well, they get owned still, they can't use the "your brother is playing" excuse.

    The Professional
    I listed this gamer last because he/she already gets so many pats on the back for pretty much being sponsored (paid) to play games professionally. So, I'll just say that I've met enough of these gamers in person to know that many of them are pretty cool!

    I'm curious if any of you have met any gamers with one or more of these traits that I admire the most? If not, do you have a description of gamers you've encountered?

  • shaunmc – E3 2011 Video Blog!

    I haven't updated this blog in forever, so allow me to make it up to you with a fancy video blog! Let's find out what the GameSpot editors are most excited about seeing at next week's E3.

    If you're seeing this from the front page of my blog, click here.

  • AndrewP – PC version of Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition UPDATED - DRM to be patched

    UPDATE 6/2/2011: According to an update on Capcom's community site, the publisher is apparently planning to patch out the offline roster restriction either at or shortly after launching the game. This is a big, big step in the right direction.

    --

    Were you looking forward to getting the PC version of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition? You might want to rethink your choice.

    Yang and Yun will have to go on being annoying without me.
    Yang and Yun will have to go on being annoying without me.

    The above link goes to Capcom's community site, where the publisher confirms that the upcoming PC version of SSF4:AE will disappointingly use the notoriously problematic Games For Windows Live software for online multiplayer (rather than the superior Steamworks), and even more frustratingly--if you're not continuously connected to the Internet, you will only be able to use 15 of the game's total roster of 39 characters.

    If you had planned to play AE on the go, such as on your laptop, in areas that may have spotty or no Internet, it sounds like you're basically hosed, here. It's also frankly hard not to see this as the publisher punishing customers who will actually buy the game legitimately...because you just know the offline restriction will be worked around by pirates, who will get all the benefits of a true SSF4AE experience, and won't even be out the 40 bucks.

    This is frustrating to me personally both as a PC game player and as a longtime fighting game player who was probably going to finally give in and start up Street Fighter IV with AE. No such luck. I don't know about you guys, but until Capcom provides clarification (along the lines of "hey guys, actually, you WON'T be restricted to only 15 characters offline"), I won't be touching the PC version of this game with a 10-foot pole.

  • RicardoT – Play For Japan: The Album

    So Akira Yamaoka is putting together a project to benefit the Tohoku tsunami victims and relief effort. It's an album called Play For Japan: The Album and will feature video game artists and composers from both the East and West. Info below. Spread the word and pick it up when it hits the iTunes Store in May.

    Website:

    More Links:
    Twitter
    @AkiraYamaoka
    @PlayForJPN
    Play For Japan auction item: Akira Yamaoka Silent Hill Guitar (auction ending 4/5/2011)

    Facebook:

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About the Soapbox

  • Welcome to the GameSpot Soapbox, in which you can always find the latest rants, diatribes, well-reasoned arguments, and baseless speculation about gaming both from the GameSpot editors and GameSpot users. Want to be spotlighted? We'll consider every GameSpot blog post marked with the category "editorial" for inclusion. Sound off!
  • Last updated: Aug 7, 2011 11:16 am PT
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