Up late talking games & writing? You're...

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Games: For a little change of pace, I invited my good friend and super-author Ann Aguirre to sound off on games from a female perspective. As you can see from her gameography, she’s no newbie to RPGs and has definite opinions on a few topics… I gave her free rein to jot down whatever she felt like, and here’s what she came up with. I think you’ll agree that there’s some interesting stuff here. But enough of me talking about it... go read it!
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And now, please give a warm Coffeecola welcome to Ann!
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Hey, everyone. I'm happy to be here. Brad asked me to write a bit about what it's like to be a gamer from a chick's perspective, so here I am, aiming to do just that.
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First, let me give you an overview of what my favorite games have been over the years. My love affair with games started a long freakin' time ago with Eye of the Beholder. I played all of them. Solved all of them. Then there was Planescape, which damn near broke my heart. I also played Dark Sun. From there I proceeded to Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Throne of Bhaal. Since then, I've discovered Neverwinter Nights (both 1 and 2), Jade Empire, Fallout 1 & 2, and the KotOR series. More recently, I've fallen in love with Fallout 3 and Mass Effect-- which pretty much brings you to date.
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In studying this list, you can probably guess that my favorite type of games have some RPG component. I don't love shooters. I've tried to like them, but they just don't have enough story to keep me interested. Fallout 3 was a really cool blend of action and story. Voice acting can make a huge difference in a game, a factor in whether I'd call it good or great. I've had a crush on Raphael Sbarge for years, ever since I first "met" him in KotOR as Carth Onasi, so when he turned up in Mass Effect, I could NOT have been happier.
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Likewise, I was stoked to find an actor, Nicky Katt, I really liked as Harry Senate in Boston Public playing Atton in KotOR 2. Yum! But wait, there's more. It was disturbing yet hot to have Liam Neeson playing my dad in Fallout 3... Because I must confess, my feelings toward him were not particularly familial.
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I'm not a level grinder or a number cruncher or a loot monkey. It will probably come as no surprise that I love the stories these games tell. I'm in it from start to finish because I want to know how it ends. That's the same reason I read a book. Sadly, many games seem to have rushed endings; it's 100% awesome until you get to the wrapup and it's like the designers said, "Ok, good enough, the end," and you're left wondering why you spent $50 on this. My affinity for story is also why it irritates me to no end to pick up an awesome-looking game and realize I have to play Captain Jack Dawson, and screw me if I don't like it.
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Look, I'm not a dude. I don't want to play a dude. Why can't I play as a woman? I liked how Mass Effect did it, just choosing the last name for you (which is fine with me) and letting the player pick a gender. I think that's smart. Otherwise you risk losing a pretty big audience. There are a lot of gamer-grrls out there, and we have money to spend.
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Which brings me to my next big gripe. I looooooooove a romance in a game. It's so fun to see how the relationship develops while you're going about your plot business. I love NPC interaction and funny interjections. There's nothing that makes me call a game awesome faster than clever writing. So why are the romances so half-assed, seriously? If you guys don't know how to write one, CALL me. I'll be happy to help you out, and so would a number of other professional romance writers. Of course, if we write the romance, it will take some of the fun out of playing it, but at least other women out there will get the joy of it. If they're having programmers do the writing or people who don't write fiction for a living in these games, I can figure that out. It's like hiring your gardener to redo your wiring just because he's already there. But obviously I don't know how it all works; I just know I've seen very few romances that worked for me, and sadly, the males usually get the better and more numerous choices. If we're lucky there's one male NPC for us, and he's usually an asshole.
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To that end, I have a few suggestions that I don't think would be very tough to implement -- and would actually streamline the romance. Put a toggle in games in the options to enable same sex romances. Write a script that determines the NPC love interest according to the gender the player chooses. That way, you only need to write one romance with minimal tweaks. I've seen this done with real expertise in player-designed modules for Neverwinter Nights. Andarian has designed an amazing module called Sanctum of the Archmage, where the romance is really well-developed in addition to combat, traps, and story. He integrates this swing-sex NPC with great skill, so if he can do it, why can't the bigger companies? There's no reason they can't raise the bar; they just choose not to. Are you listening to me? I promise you more chicks will play your games if you go this route.
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My most anticipated releases are Jade Empire 2 (is this more than a myth?), Star Wars: the Old Republic, and Dragon Age. Oh, and I can't forget about Mass Effect 2. Now that I've had my say, feel free to reply. I'll be back later to talk games, reminisce about the good oldies, and generally wax poetic.
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Infinite thanks to Ann, and be sure to check her out at her own site, annaguirre.com.
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Games: I'm getting pretty damned sick of the heat wave that's been plaguing Western Washington recently.
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Before global warming started getting really bad, Seattle and the surrounding parts was famous for its mild weather. The misconception is that it rains all the time here, but that's actually not the case. It's incredibly cloudy for a large portion of the year, but there are tons of places that get a lot more rain than we do.
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Anyway, since our summers are usually so pleasant, it's pretty rare to find a house that has an air-conditioning unit installed. I think that trend may be changing. It's been so hot here that I have literally been afraid to turn on any of my consoles for fear that they will overheat and die. If my house had air conditioning or if it got some shade, that might be different story, but the way my domicile is positioned, it's like a friggin’ oven. If I spilled some flour on my counter and left a few eggs out in the morning, I’d have muffins by mid-afternoon…
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What does this have to do with games? Well, nothing except that I haven't been able to get any further in Dark Athena for the last couple of days. I might try my luck tonight if the temperature drops a few more degrees.
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In the meantime, I started playing Avalon Code on the DS. (Unlike the 360, it withstands the heat just fine. You know how those DS’s are… damned near indestructible.)
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Anyway, although there are quite a large number of RPGs already on the system and despite the fact that I am pretty well sick of JRPGs at the moment, it immediately caught my attention thanks to the beautiful art direction and a very interesting concept. Graphics aside, the hook of the game is that the world is coming to an end-- there is no saving it. It's a done deal. So, before the apocalypse you are charged with taking care of a special book which is meant to record everything that will be carried forward into the new world. It's an interesting that's all well and good, but it's how it's implemented that spurred my curiosity.
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Basically, you can smack anything in the world with this special book and after doing so, a picture of it appears on one of the pages. A little screen displaying its characteristics comes up as well – things like Hope, Iron, Likes Dogs, or Shadow. They take the form of little puzzle pieces, and the player can add or remove them to change the qualities of that particular thing. Find a rusty sword? Remove the Rust and add Ore, and you've got a brand new weapon. That creature in the meadow to tough to defeat? Remove his Stone aspect and give him Sick. His defense drops and he'll be dead with a single swipe. Despite a few rough edges so far, I find the system to be particularly fascinating. More impressions to come.
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Not to be a Twitter whore, but I really do think it's a fantastic service. How else would you be able to have interactions with people that would normally be not at all within your daily circle? Just this morning, I was at an assignment and bored out of my skull. Taking a quick break to scarf a sandwich, I had a quick exchange with David Jaffe, he of the God of War fame. I might expect something like that to happen at E3 or at some conference or another, but it just struck me as particularly cool that it came up in the middle of the day, no special occasion.
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Twitter, the great equalizer.
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I thought I'd have the weekend off, but I ended up working a ton. Not complaining since I can certainly use the extra hours, but detail is currently dragging and there's not a whole hell of a lot to report. As a result, here's a quickie:
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Games: ‘Splosion Man on XBLA is really, really fun and not exactly what I expected.
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Writing: Got a good chunk carved out of chapter 21 tonight. Still don't have a title.
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Film: National Lampoon’s Vacation is still absurdly hilarious. Totally holds up.
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Family: The baby is close to learning how to laugh. Not quite there yet, though.
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That’s it for now… it's bedtime, baby.
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Writing: After resuming work on the currently-untitled book my co-author and I have been putting together, I'm glad to say that I put another chapter in the can after taking a month and a half off.
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I definitely felt a bit rusty after not having touched it in so long-- my usual M.O. is to do at least a little bit every night, so taking a big break like that was unusual. I have to admit, I had basically no clue where I left off before the summer, so I was really glad that my partner and I had sketched out a pretty comprehensive outline for the remainder of the book.
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If you're a writer and you're not doing outlines.. why not?
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Games: Still playing Dark Athena on 360.
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I thought I had reached the end of the game when the developers surprised me and whipped out another new chunk of content to get through. To be perfectly frank, I think I was ready for the game to be over. I'm a little concerned now that it might overstay its welcome.
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Still enjoying it so far, though… the writers have done a really bang-up job in clearly illustrating Riddick’s character. I may not like what I see and I may not agree with it, but there's no doubt that he feels very consistent and well-defined. In this respect, they've done better than I expected, and the rest of the story has been above-average as well.
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Brutal, dark, and certainly heartless at times, but above-average.
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Dark Athena aside, I’m still chipping away at Emergency on the DS and I just downloaded ‘Splosion Man (XBLA) from Twisted Pixel.
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Heard nothing but good things about it, so I'm very much looking forward to starting it up.
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Film: Ok, it's not really a film exactly, but the wife and I just watched Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog on DVD, and we loved it. Before viewing, all I knew about it was that it was written by Joss Whedon and that Neil Patrick Harris was in it. Both are A-OK in my book, and since the wife has acclimated me to watching musicals, I was more than willing to give it a shot.
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Basically, it's about a failed supervillain (Dr. Horrible) who wants to earn his way into the local union of evildoers. He's also got a crush on a woman he's met at the local laundromat, and his nemesis keeps throwing wrenches into his works. Take that basic premise and mix it up with some nicely-written songs, and you've got about 48 minutes of quality, modern-era entertainment.
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NPH rocked the house, I loved the ending, and the whole thing is definitely recommended. great stuff.
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Misc: I live in a house, but it's one of those new, urban-friendly high-density types. Instead of the traditional structure surrounded by a yard and a white picket fence, it's a tall and narrow townhouse on a lot that contains three other separate townhouses. As such, I find that I bump into my neighbors fairly frequently. It's funny, though… despite being in such close proximity, I don't know them very well. In fact, I can't even remember their names. Instead, the wife and I refer to them by more descriptive titles -- Asshole lives directly next door, Eco-Friendly is kitty-corner, and Elvis is behind us.
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Out of the bunch, it's Elvis that has always been the most open and outgoing. In fact, on garbage day right after we moved in, he was nice enough to bring in my can and put it back where it belongs as a friendly gesture. It was a little thing and was never openly discussed or commented on, but I returned the favor the next week and it became a kind of unwritten agreement that we would continue the tradition.
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Fast forward 2 1/2 years.
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This little “I'll bring your cans in this week if you bring in mine next” has been continuing uninterrupted until last week. Out of the blue, Elvis didn't bring my can in. His was gone, but mine was still out there by the curb. It seemed odd, and I was even a little offended… I could think of no reason why he would break tradition. I mean, it's been going on for a couple of years and then this?
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I thought that maybe he was sick and his wife had brought in their can. Perhaps she didn't know about our little arrangement. I let it slide and waited to see what would happen this week.
After this most recent garbage day, his can was gone and mine was still out there.
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I was upset. Shocked. Two years of this neighborly exchange shattered in one weekend. Why? For what? It's hard to properly capture, but it just felt so... Rude; almost as though he was making some kind of comment. Somehow telling me that the honeymoon was over. What did it mean?
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This week, I came home a little earlier than expected to find both of our cans still by the curb. I debated bringing his in as a kind of goodwill gesture that might restore our silent pact, but decided against it after a moment or two. Bitter? Vengeful? Maybe, but I wasn't the one that started this…
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It’s on, Elvis.
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Games: I’m at the final boss in Phantasy Star Portable.
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I expected to have it done and on my shelf a few days ago, but the sharp spike in difficulty was a real turnoff and I decided to take a break before I'd be tempted to chuck the thing across the room.
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The game itself is nothing special, although I will say that I was in the mood for a loot-earning, clothes-changing dungeon crawler and it satisfied my craving perfectly. I would have been thrilled to complete it without much thought, but now it seems apparent that the only way I'm going to see credits roll is to grind out another ten or fifteen levels.
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After twelve hours of play this isn't exactly the way I wanted things to wrap up, but I imagine I’ll get back to it and chip away at the remains incrementally.
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In other portable news, I started Emergency! Disaster Rescue Squad for the DS and I'm thinking it's pretty good stuff. Basically, the game presents players with real-life inspired disasters -- Forest fires, civil unrest, automobile accidents, and so on.
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At the beginning of each stage, the appropriate emergency response units arrive and it's up to me to direct them where to go and what to do. It's all very straightforward and process-oriented, but the reality-lite approach is really quite novel and it’s a great change of pace to be tackling something like this instead of the usual shoot stuff, kill stuff, or collect stuff. I am a little over halfway at this point, but I would give it a very strong recommend, especially at an MSRP of $20.
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The publisher, Destineer, is definitely one to watch. Their profile has a very quirky underdog feel to it, yet the quality of what they've been putting out has been consistently better than expected so far. Thumbs up!
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One last little bit of game-related talk -- I fired up The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (360) yesterday and put about two hours into it. I don't care for the films that the Riddick games are inspired by, but the first one (TCoR:Escape from Butcher Bay) was superb and this new campaign hooked me immediately.
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I'll have more to say on it later once I get a bit further in the adventure, but so far I'm loving it. Very adult, very dark, and it's giving me that “can't wait to get back to it” feeling, which is definitely a good thing.
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Writing: The summer hiatus is over. Work resumes on the new book starting…NOW.
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Family: We’re getting to the end of my oldest son’s summer visit.
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It's been a good run, with lots of good memories. Although it seems like there's never enough time to do everything that we intend to, I'm glad to say that his stay here was quality time in the truest sense of the phrase.
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Besides the fact that the summer visit is always my favorite since it's the longest, this particular session was also notable because my wife’s parents were able to synchronize things and take their vacation at the same time my son was here. Since they live in a foreign country, he's only ever been able to see them via video chat on a computer. So, having everyone together and in person was a real treat.
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That said, there's no getting around the fact that his stays with us are always too brief. We eventually get to the point when everybody is aware that the clock is counting down towards the return to his mother (although nobody really says it out loud) and it casts a bit of a pall over things.
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It would be great to end on a high note, but I really don't think that's possible given the situation. All we can do now is start looking forward to Christmas.
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Games: Although I haven't had as much game time as usual lately, I was able to sneak in a few sessions with Ghostbusters: the Video Game on PS3.
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I haven't checked any FAQs, but I’d estimate I'm about halfway through or so -- before I started, I was hoping that the game would be at least decent, but I'm quite glad to report that it's actually fantastic. Without a doubt, it's certainly among the best license-based games ever created, if not the best. Besides that, it's great just as a game, license or not.
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Although I certainly think anyone would be able to enjoy the action, I'd guess that it's at least twice as good for people (like me) who are fans of the film.
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(…And yes, I said film. The first movie was great, and I think everyone can pretty much agree that the sequel sucked. Luckily, it seems as though the game can be taken as a continuation of the events from the original movie. At least, I haven't seen anything that really acknowledges the existence of Ghostbusters 2.)
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By far the best aspect is the absolute ton of scripting and voice work done by the original actors are reprising their roles, with the exceptions of Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver. Although it would've been nice to have them on board, I have to admit that it might have been a little bit of a stretch getting their characters worked into the plot. Honestly, they aren't much of a loss.
I'm also quite taken with the team approach implemented by developer Terminal Reality.
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Instances where the player finds himself alone are few and far between, and being accompanied by chatty, active partners for the lions’ share of gameplay is incredibly entertaining. Really, it gives a very unusual (yet welcome) feeling to the proceedings that I would love to see other developers emulate.
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Oh, and the gameplay is actually quite excellent. Did I not mention that yet? The proton packs used to tackle ghosts in the film have been greatly expanded to feature four different types of functions accessed via the D-pad, and so far there has been a great balance between fodder ghosts (used to keep the energy level up) and more significant supernatural encounters. I wasn't quite sure how the game would play out, but exploring different locales and trapping ghosts is actually more entertaining than I had dared hope.
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Great graphics, great music, lots of little touches for the fans… Ghostbusters is just a fantastic game any way you slice it and I couldn't be happier. Development community take note: this is exactly how a licensed game should be made. Let's have more like it, please.
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Finally, one last thing: Kotaku had a great piece about how the Wii’s motion controls are sort of… fail. I thought it was an interesting bit to chew on. Check it here.
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Games: Although it's not exactly a new thing, two games I've played recently have included vocal NPCs tagging along with the player-- and I love it. Specifically, the titles I'm referring to are Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood and Ghostbusters.
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In Juarez, the player selects either Thomas or Ray McCall at the beginning of each level, and the AI plays the role of the other. Although the adventure is heavily scripted in nearly every aspect, their constant company provides ample opportunity for dialogue between the characters. These conversations help build a sense of familiarity with the characters, and it's very welcome to play a game where I don't feel like a lone soldier fighting a war all by myself. Honestly, the back-and-forth between the brothers is the best aspect of the entire game.
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In Ghostbusters (I'm still really early in the game) but the first section featured constant chatter between the player and the main characters from the films.
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With the exception of two or three extremely brief segments when separated from the rest of the Bustin’ crew, the game was very much about a team atmosphere. As a fan, I was extremely thrilled to hear that all of the original actors reprise their roles, but aside from that fact, it was quite enjoyable to (again) not feel like that solo character taking on the world.
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I think there's definitely a lot of room for game developers to explore this avenue. After all, gamers have spent so many years being the one who saves the girl/city/planet/universe that I think a title or two putting players in a team, secondary or supporting role would be quite welcome change of pace. The key difference would be the amount of constant interaction the NPCs had, as well as the copious amounts of dialogue. By simply exposing the player's character to the presence of other characters, an entirely new quality begins to emerge thanks to the fact that the talking isn't limited to between-level cut scenes or two talking heads speaking via bubbles.
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Oh, here are a couple of quick links:
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The latest GameCritics Podcast, Episode 18: Wii Hate Nintendo and my Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament review. Feedback on either/both is always welcome.
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TV: The wife and I just caught up with SyFy’s new series, Warehouse 13.
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(And by the way, I personally think that the change to this new ‘SyFy’ moniker is a completely stupid and pointless decision pandering to the wrong sort of thinking. Anyway…)
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It actually wasn't too bad. The basic premise is that the government operates a giant warehouse out in the middle of nowhere that stores dangerous and mystical artifacts. Two Secret Service agents are free to go out into the field, and I assume that each episode will likely center around a new magical doodad or cursed trinket. (It reminds me a bit of the old Friday the 13th TV series, but hey... there's nothing new under the sun.)
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The characters were likable enough with the casting rules being a bit reversed; the male character was sensitive and feely while the female took charge and was more gruff. Although the first episode was a bit predictable, there's definitely potential here and we both decided that we would be tuning in for the next few episodes, at the very least.
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Also in SyFy (bleagh) news, I'm glad to report that recent commercials have advertised the upcoming second season of Sanctuary. Although I can't say that I know of anyone besides us that actually watched it, I like the first arc enough to watch every episode and am looking forward to its return.
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There have got to be at least a few other fans of the show out there, right? Right??
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(And hey, does anybody know if Krod Mandoon is coming back? LOVED that show…)
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Games: Contrary to popular rumor, the Best of Community feature I've been plinking away at is still alive and kicking. I had to shelve it for a little while for various reasons, but I have two reviews that need to be posted tonight, and once those are in the can then I'm going to focus my full attention on getting the first installment of BoC up and running.
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In other news, I never saw this one coming but the PSP's Phantasy Star Portable has been getting the majority of my playtime lately.
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One reason is that I've been on the go much more than usual lately, so the ‘portable’ aspect has a lot to do with it. That aside, it's been a while since I played a good level-grinding loot-fest, so this one is fitting the bill. It's not one of the genre's best and it's certainly not as good as it could be, but it definitely has a certain charm. I'm not going to do a review due to time constraints, but here’s a quick breakdown after getting about 3/4ths of the way through the story mode:
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Pros-
>surprisingly deep character creator
>fits in well with the established Phantasy Star series’ recent entries
>levels are relatively brief and easy to digest in short sessions
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Cons-
>gameplay is very simple with no variation
>not enough crazy weapons and clothing/armor
>story is on the weak side
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I assume that people interested in a grinding hack-and-slash/shoot-fest in the first place probably won't mind the repetition or weak story, but the relatively slow trickle of fancy weapons and appearance-changing outfits is a little bit of a bummer. Even so, I'm still having a good time with the game and I'm glad I took a chance on it despite being disappointed in the past few Phantasy Star efforts.
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It would never fly in its current state as a console game, but on the PSP it works.
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Food: Recently I've seen quite a few ads for a new (and allegedly healthy) snack bar called SoyJoy. I often have need of something that I can grab and eat on the go and I'm also a big fan of soy, so this seemed like something that would interest me.
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As luck would have it, I ran into some people downtown who were giving away free samples, so I happily snapped up four or five different flavors. I ate the first one without giving it much thought and I have to say that it wasn't nearly as tasty as I thought it would be. Surprisingly dry and dense, it was almost like a small biscotti, and I'm not sure I mean that in a positive way.
I still had several left over so I figured I would just eat the rest of the samples and never worry about it again, but I started checking the nutritional facts label and I was a little bit shocked at what I found.
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For starters, the fat content was much higher than something I would tolerate from a ‘health’ bar. The average seems to be about 6ish grams of total fat, and 2-4 grams of saturated. The fact that there is saturated fat at all in it was fairly troubling, but then I went down to the list of ingredients and I could hardly believe my eyes.
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Butter, eggs, butter oil, and… Parmesan Cheese?!? This is stuff that I avoid in general, and none of it is something that I want in a bar being heavily promoted as soy-based. I really don't understand the rationale here, since people who will be attracted by a soy product are probably making efforts to avoid dairy, and with a significant fat content, it's hardly suitable for people who might be on a diet. Even worse, the bars taste like crap so it's not like they have some delicious flavor to keep me coming back.
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SoyJoy: Fail.
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TV: So the wife and I have been following Harper’s Island since it started, and the series ended with a two-hour finale this past Saturday.
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For those who aren't familiar, the premise was that the show would be a finite program with a clearly defined beginning and end, similar to the way many shows are structured overseas, particularly in Europe. In this particular case, a group of attractive late twentysomethings travel to a fictional island to celebrate a wedding, and at least one person was murdered each episode. The attraction, of course, was knowing that the mystery would be completely unraveled by the time the season was over.
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This series was a bold move for CBS not only thanks to the unusual-for-America pre-planned endpoint, but also because it was skewed towards younger viewers and built on a Horror/Suspense theme… not exactly what you'd expect from a network known for having its base made up of mostly senior citizens.
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The writing wasn't the best, it was sometimes hard to keep the characters straight (the cast had to start large since the body count was upped each episode) and the first four or five installments just sort of ambled along-- but I have to admit that by the time Harper’s Island passed the halfway point, we were looking forward to it each week.
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So, the ending…
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SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
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The way things were tied up at the end, it almost made sense… however, it missed the mark just enough to feel less-than-satisfying. (And the following few paragraphs will probably make NO sense at all if you haven’t been watching the show. Apologies in advance!)
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Events were muddied by the fact that the suspected murderer (Wakefield) was presumed dead at the start of the show and then later revealed to still be alive. This in itself would have been fine, save for the fact that this “I’m not really dead!” person wasn't the true spiritual culprit.
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When the biggest psycho on the show (Henry) was revealed for what was (I assume) supposed to be a big ‘A-HA!’ moment, his motive just didn't feel completely dialed-in. If he was as sociopathic as he was portrayed to be, it seems to me like there were plenty of ways he could have gotten what he wanted without going through all the hoops and trouble of murdering one person a week, not to mention the fact that his cooperation with Wakefield felt far-fetched.
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I mean, when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, what happened was Henry met Wakefield, felt a “connection” with him (totally aside from the fact that they have a father/son blood relationship, if he was to be believed) then they team up to lure everyone back to the island under the pretense of Henry’s marriage. This already feels dangerously shaky to me, but then you add in the fact that their motives were unclear; if Wakefield wanted revenge for something that had happened to him in the past, it seems as though at least 3/4ths of the victims on the show weren't responsible in any way. Why go to the trouble of killing them all?
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It was also mentioned that Henry was getting revenge as well (with Wakefield presumably assisting him past any drive from his own motives) , though at the end it was really about Henry wanting to have a delusional relationship with someone who ends up being his half-sister.
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This thread was the sickest, and would have been the most satisfying if it had been strengthened. My impression was that Henry’s true plan was basically to kidnap his sister and then murder every single person who knew either of them so that they could live together in peace. Pretty bizarre and twisted, but it seemed a little doltish for someone allegedly smart enough to pull off such a complicated plan and execute it flawlessly over the number of years required to put all the pieces in place beforehand. I mean, has he never heard of the path of least resistance?
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END SPOILERS
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Although I can't say that the series ended as strong as I would've liked it to, it was a huge checkmark in the ‘plus’ column that the series ended. Seriously, half the reason we hung in was because we knew we would be getting a complete story in a reasonable amount of time and I certainly support the concept of finite series. I mean, how many programs have started off with a bang, only to finish much weaker, and usually further afield than the writers ever intended? It's a natural consequence of finding success and being strongly encouraged by a network to keep a show going past any logical endpoint for the sake of continued profit.
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For example, I'm not a Lost fan but I tried to get into the series in the beginning and felt like the writers lost their way once they realized they had a hit that wasn't ending on their hands. They may have gotten their mojo back, but they lost me a while ago and I'm not about to jump back on the bandwagon now that they’ve actually announced when the show will be over-- but if they had announced the endpoint from the start, I very well may have hung in there.
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Another example of a series that could really have benefited from an endpoint is Heroes. The first season was literal must-see TV at my house, each episode keeping us on the edges of our seat every week. Once the first season’s story arc ended, it became painfully obvious that the writers had no idea where to go or what to do, but the networks weren't about to let such a monster hit go away. As a consequence, the show has only gotten progressively worse with the creative team struggling to present compelling narrative that demands closure and failing to deliver it since the show must go on. Although I could write an entire series of blog posts about what's wrong with Heroes, I really don't think there's any question that having a discrete beginning, middle and end would have been better for this program than letting it metastasize into the drawn-out comedy of errors it’s become.
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Getting back to Harper’s Island, it seems as though the series did not garner the kind of ratings that would ensure a second season next year, and that's really too bad. I think the basic premise was good, there are essentially infinite stories that could be told using the same ‘kill one person a week’ framework, and I really do think that America would see the value of finite storytelling if given the chance. If Harper’s Island doesn't make significant headway in this area, I hope another series will take a cue and keep this concept going.
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Games: Still working on Call of Juarez. I'm sort of split on it.
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I like Westerns and this one is certainly a great deal better than the first in the series. I have a fondness for the characters, as well… the voice work is good and they fit snugly into the niche that cowboys and outlaws occupy in my mind.
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On the other hand, the gameplay just isn't that exciting, and although I have an enjoyable time while actually in the act of, as soon as I turn the console off and step away, it's as though the game has never existed for me. It instantly vanishes from my mind, and I feel no draw whatsoever to get back to it apart from the knowledge that I have a review due.
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In other game news, I needed something to play on the PSP since I knew I'd have some time to kill. Scanning the shelves of used titles (and trying not to imagine a future where this is no longer a reality) I found myself strangely attracted to Phantasy Star Portable.
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Although I enjoyed a couple of the original PS games back on the Genesis and spent some time with PS Online, I can't really claim to be a huge fan of the series in its various incarnations. The more recent titles have been especially lacking in my opinion, and although Phantasy Star sorta paved the way for online console MMOing, the developers don't really seem able to keep pace with current trends for various reasons.
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At this point you're probably wondering why the hell I was even considering PS Portable, and the answer to that is: I have no idea. It just sounded good.
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Chalk it up to a hormone imbalance, or malnutrition, or some other random thought-altering physiological state. Cosmic rays, perhaps. The lunar cycle? Anyway, I walked out of the store with it and put an hour or two into it.
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I don't have a lot of thoughts on it just yet, although I will say that the character creator system is surprisingly robust. Featuring a lot more options than I would have expected, I spent a good deal of time tweaking my character and if nothing else, I give Sega huge props for A) including the option to create a plus-sized woman, and B) giving this female form a normal weight distribution instead of applying male body shape to a female character model. (Yes, it's true... not every male gamer finds the skinny-minnie Eastern quasi-jailbait archetype attractive.)
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Oh, and the camera control and lock-on system seem to completely blow, although I'm not quite sure I've completely mastered the controls yet.
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Books: Picked up a copy of Joe R. Lansdale’s Lost Echoes. Haven't had a chance to crack it yet, but I'm really, really looking forward to it.
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If you've never read a Lansdale book, you owe it to yourself to check one out. Joe has inspired and influenced me more than any other author, and his books have informed me as to what sort of writing I most enjoy, and what sort I like to write. If I ever turn out a volume that's even a third as good as some of the things that Joe has done, I'll call that a complete success.
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There are certainly many authors that I enjoy, and there are authors that I respect, but although I can appreciate them all, no one even comes close to touching the kind of stuff that Joe crafts. Simple, yet nuanced… straightforward, yet complex… lean, yet full of action and energy. His talent for intertwining humor and horror seems effortless, and his characters pop. The guy is the total package, and although some of his books are better than others, even his worst ones are head and shoulders above what a lot of so-called bestsellers achieve.
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Anyway, like I said... if you're not familiar with Joe's work, then you owe it to yourself to get in touch with some of the best writing that's been happening in the past few decades. The man's a genius.
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Man, it's been a crazy couple of weeks…
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First of all, apologies to everyone who follows the posts here. I try to make an effort and blog at least every other day, but with everything going on lately it's been nearly impossible to get any time to do writing or reading of any sort.
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After the in-laws left, I thought for sure that yesterday would be my day to catch up on everything.
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How does that line go about mice and plans...?
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About fifteen minutes into my efforts I got called away on a last-minute emergency thing that ended up lasting the entire night. By the time all was said and done, the sun was up and I could barely keep my eyes open… it sort of goes without saying that most of today was a bleary-eyed wash, but I've had about eight cups of coffee and I'm feeling fine for the moment, so I'm going with it.
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Writing: I made note of this on the sidebar, but for those of you who've asked, the current work-in-progress is on hiatus until probably the third week of July. There have been so many legitimately important things popping up lately that I just haven't had the time, and unless I figure out some way to add a few more hours in the day, I decided to put the book on hold so I can stop feeling guilty about not working on the book. I'm really looking forward to getting back to it, though… my co-author and I have hammered out nearly all of the details we need to finish, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.
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Reading: Read a couple of fantastic short stories and I really wanted to get the word out on them.
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The first is called “The Right Way to Eat a Bagel” by my good friend and generally brilliant writer Marshall Moore. You can check it out for free HERE. I can't really say much about it without spoiling the story, so just trust me when I say that it's absolutely worth the read and it's short enough that the average person will be able to get through it in one sitting. I’ve read a number of Marshall’s stories, and while they’re all good, this one was especially visceral-- I had to take a deep breath at the end. (Not to be a Twitter whore, but you can follow Mr. Moore at @articulateink)
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The second story is called “The Bikes of New York” by Cheeseburger Brown (@cheeseburgerb) , and it's available HERE. This tale is about a quasi-dystopian future, and what a Frenchman will do to survive. If the first chapter doesn't grab you, hang in there … it takes a number of unexpected directions, and if nothing else, Brown’s mastery of the language is certainly worth absorbing. Thanks to @merileefaber for recommending!
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Haven't had much time or focus for reading full-length books lately, but both of these stories really stuck to my ribs and re-ignited my fire for the short form.
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Games: This is probably old news, but here’s the latest PODCAST over at GameCritics in case you missed it.
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I'm completely behind schedule in terms of reviews which is a little embarrassing since I pride myself on being an industrious, high-output kind of guy, but I'm making the effort and slowly getting back up to speed. At the moment I’m still chugging through Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood on PS3.
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Although it didn't start off very well, the later chapters pick up and I can say that I'm enjoying it a lot more than I was initially-- though it's not that the gameplay is especially entertaining, but I get a lot of mileage out of the Western setting and the main characters are keeping my interest.
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Their voice work is actually fairly well done so that definitely helps, and it was a smart move on the part of the developers to keep the two playable brothers together regardless of which is chosen since it gives plenty of opportunities for dialogue and storytelling, not to mention the fact that having a buddy along during the game builds an appreciable sense of camaraderie. If it wasn't for the characters (and to a lesser degree, the plot) I would have mentally checked out by now.
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Finally, I did have a chance to put a few hours into Lemmings on PSP. Although I finished Lemmings 3D on PSone, I've never actually played the original Lemmings for more than a few minutes.
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The developers did a good job of smoothing it out and making it look pretty, but I think its core identity needed a little more work.
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Don't get me wrong-the formula and concept are still good, but it was pretty frustrating to get into some of the more difficult puzzles and not be able to zoom in enough for a sufficient level of precision when activating some of the special powers, not to mention that when a lot of lemmings get into a small area, it's basically impossible to pick the exact one you want out of the massed herd.
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Since so much of the game is about being very exact in terms of placement and timing rather than simply figuring out what to do, my frustration level crept up quicker than I expected and I ended up putting it aside with about half the content left untouched. This kind of imprecise control combined with stringent victory strategies might have been all right back in the day, but it doesn't fly anymore. I'm glad to have it in the archive, but I think I’ll be content to leave it as a footnote rather than a personal conquest.
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It feels like a million years since I've been in my regular groove (and I'm not quite back just yet) but things are partially normalizing—at the very least, I'm in front of my computer and not passed out in bed, so that's something. At this point I'm quite all right with small steps.
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Writing: Got my pre-conference critiques back for Speaking in Forked Tongues, and the feedback was pretty good. The only thing that I had a hard time digesting was that one of the reviewers said that my pacing was “breathless, but uneventful.”
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Honestly, I'm not even sure what that means.
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It moved quickly and kept her glued, but… nothing happened? If nothing happened, then how could it really be ‘breathless’? I mean, I sort of associate that word with being a fairly positive, fast-paced thing, so maybe this person means it a different way than I take it? Not sure, and since the critiques are anonymous, I can’t go back and ask for clarification.
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That particular issue aside, I really can't complain about the rest of the comments. They all seem in line with what I was hoping for, and that's definitely a good thing.
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Games: I’ve barely had time to play anything between work and the in-laws, but I finally completed Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament on PSP, and it's one of those games that really should be a hell of a lot better than it is. I mean, nearly every aspect of it made me say ‘wow, this is cool, BUT…’ and those buts ended up being pretty significant.
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I wanted to like it a lot more than I did and it was so close to being worthy and that it was painful, but I'm afraid to say that the review won't be very positive. I haven’t started writing it yet, but I've got a feeling it will be a quick one.
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In the meantime, I've got to get back to Magic and Garou: Mark of the Wolves on Live, in addition to Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood on PS3 before the next round of must-reviews comes in.
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Need a few more hours in the day, please.
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Family: The in-laws are still here and my ability to get stuff done is still in la toilette... Gonna try to do a proper update ASAP, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet. Check back in another day or so... Apologies for the lack of content!
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