Friday, September 20, 2013

When there were Seven...

While I'm currently a PC gamer, I used to be a console enthusiast, especially for Nintendo. And while I loved Super Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, and Super Smash Brothers, the GameCube's always been special to me. While it lost out to the far more flexible Playstation 2 and fledgling Xbox, it still possessed an excellent library of games. Thanks to the Wii's backwards compatibility, I continued playing GameCube games far past its lifespan, managing to unearth several obscure gems, my favorite being Suda51's magnum opus, Killer7.



Monday, September 16, 2013

The Necessity of a Grand Finale

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SEVERAL VIDEO GAMES. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!!


Video games set expectations. However, this isn't just in advertising and previews, but in playing the game itself. From beginning to end, games are a package deal. The title and menu screens can set tone, while the initial tutorials and levels give the player an idea of what's to come.

Any game (or movie, series, etc.) can have an excellent premise and brilliant execution. But, all games need to end. The early days of the arcade provided titles that were technically "endless" that continued to grow in difficulty until the player ran out of quarters. Since then, the industry has evolved, developing games with plots that have conclusions. There are exceptions like Massively Multiplayer Online titles, which depend on the continual addition of content to prolong their lives. However, most games have a clear-cut ending, be it a final resolution or an open-ended cliffhanger.