Random Gaming Thoughts

[Ack]

I thought about playing That Dragon, Cancer but given I would rather not risk having an opinion on it. I remember thinking a certain movie about domestic violence was poorly written and generally terrible and I can assure you that people immediately assume the worst of you if you criticize a work like that.

Not that I've played a game like what I'm about to describe, but I definitely foresee a trend of games being forgiven for generic gameplay simply because they deal with heavy topics.

To an extent, yes, but perhaps it's because having games even attempt to approach such topics is still relatively new and novel. It all relates back into the debates over whether games are art, what constitutes a video game, and how games approach certain topics. To be offered a chance to play something deeply autobiographical is still quite new(and admittedly a little refreshing to see. Exploratory variance in how games are designed is interesting, even if the results aren't always likable). When one factors in both that this is about a child and that it combines elements of the game creators' faith, well, it's certainly an oddity in the game world. Heck, a lot of the reviews I've read on That Dragon, Cancer explicitly start by saying they cannot quantify it in the way most games are.

[Sarge]

As a testament to my periodic obliviousness, I'll tell you guys my latest derp.

I recently discovered that PS1 games played on PSP can actually be played in 4:3 ratio. I did not know this. I did not know this, because every time I saw a screenshot of a PS1 game on PSP, it was always stretched to 16:9. So I assumed that was how the PSN supplied games rendered on the device. Not wanting to play PS1 games in the wrong aspect ratio, I thusly avoided playing PS1 games on PSP. Turns out, in fact, you can easily change the games to 4:3 ratio, thusly playing them the way they were supposed to look.

For me, this is pretty awesome. Because there a lot of PS1 JRPGs and SRPGs I would like to play via PSP relaxing in bed. Not to mention a few action classics. So on one hand while I feel like an idiot for not having known this for so long, I feel like a happy idiot knowing the possibility exists.

I can play handheld Shadow Tower in bed. That's pretty damn rad.

(Also PSX2PSP offers up possibilities beyond what even PSN provides.)

On top of that, you can change it to pixel-perfect, or scaled, and you can even customize the scaling differently than the "normal" scaling. It's pretty sweet. You can also see why I've ripped so many of my RPGs and put them on there.

I'd also recommend looking into Popsloader. There are some issues with a few games in later firmwares, so it's nice to be able to drop back to a previous version. Most stuff works without a hitch, though. (Not Dragon Warrior VII, I think the last rev has the text display bug where you can't even see it.)

[prfsnl_gmr]

Also, if you want a true challenge, be sure to play Nectaris: Military Madness (PS1) on your PSP. That (brilliant) game does not pull any punches, but playing it on a handheld make it much, much more manageable.

Holy shit, yes, that game is evil. I assume the PS1 version doesn't take as long for the computer to figure out its turn as the TG-16 version.

Nope. The computer in the PS1 game will destroy you in a matter of minutes (or - and more frustratingly - it will snatch victory at the last moment and after hours of nearly flawless play). Also, you have to play through two increasingly-difficult versions of the game before you unlock the TG-16 maps, both of which are so hard that, by the time you unlock the TG-16 maps, they seem relatively easy.

Playing through the game, however, I realized that, while the computer almost always has an overwhelming number of superior units and while the computer never makes a tactical error, it does not actually have any sort of strategy for winning the battle. Its AI is also very predictable in certain situations, and successfully exploiting your "human" advantages is the only way to win some of the game's more challenging sections.

[nullPointer]

I watched the trailer to that dragon cancer game, and it did nothing for me. I guess there is no amount of immersion for me with it. I am also failing to see how it is a game?

Yeah I watched it again and realized that Ack's right; knowing the story behind the game certainly gives the trailer more impact. I also think you're right that it hues closer to something like a visual novel than it does to a "game" (and admittedly it's a huge stretch to call a non-fictional account regarding the death of a child a "game"). Likewise though I think it's important that we have examples like this that make us think about the nature of games. Any medium becomes stagnant without elements that seek to stretch and subvert the medium. Traditional mediums such as books and films are somewhat limited in the ways that they can push against the bounds of their respective mediums (i.e. primarily through narrative means and/or audio visually), but video games can do so in any number of ways. Even the means by which we consume video games is fluid and changing (as we're seeing in the rise of VR devices).

In short I think it's "games" like this which cause us evaluate the medium on its merits that are some of the most interesting (at least from the perspective of a "student of games" as it were). Much more so than traditional mediums, the video game medium is something that is still taking shape and evolving, and I think it's exciting that we are a part of that (some of us since the very inception). Don't get me wrong, the conventional established structure of gaming will always hold an appeal, but at the same time I think it's important to continually push against the boundaries of what can be done within the medium in order to realize its potential.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Unless I already have it on a console I'm gonna download every Steam game that possesses all three of these tags:
"anime"
"female protagonist"
"RPG"

[Forlorn Drifter]

Unless I already have it on a console I'm gonna download every Steam game that possesses all three of these tags:
"anime"
"female protagonist"
"RPG"

Let's play a game! "How much censored eroge will be in this category?"

I'm saying...30% or so.

[ElkinFencer10]

Unless I already have it on a console I'm gonna download every Steam game that possesses all three of these tags:
"anime"
"female protagonist"
"RPG"

Let's play a game! "How much censored eroge will be in this category?"

I'm saying...30% or so.

If it's censored, I'd go to some other site to download it. Princess Evangile, anyone?

[Forlorn Drifter]

From what I understand once it breaks a certain point, they censor it on steam. Some kind of company policy.

[BogusMeatFactory]

So I watched the, That Dragon, Cancer trailer and it struck a chord with me. It isn't hard, as anything dealing with children and being a parent springs an intense reaction within me. I will definitely be playing it and definitely struggling through it willingly. I love these types of experiences.

An interactive story is a game. Many Text-Based Adventure games had a huge focus on the story over puzzle solving and yet they are still games. A lot of people talk about how video games are only now starting to focus on strong emotional concepts and they aren't quite there yet into integrating into a more game like atmosphere. I say that is partially true, as there have been a lot of games throughout history on the PC front that have done just that, although not into such a mainstream audience.

I always love to point to one of my all time favorite games, A Mind Forever Voyaging, which features only a single puzzle and challenges the player to explore a world and understand a big-picture perspective in terms of politics, mob mentality and societal shortcomings. This was made by one of the few gaming idols I have, Steve Meretzky and even though the game did not spring up as much controversy as his other comedic titles like, The Leather Goddesses of Phobos, it is one of the more poignant games ever made.

[Jmustang1968]

Oh, I have played many VNs. Just this one didnt seem like as much interaction or exploration.