John’s Production Blog for ‘The End Is Nigel’ and beyond…
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Bioshock may have lost out in my voice acting post (the audio logs are fantastic but slightly jar in terms of ‘why would Andrew Ryan split these up and hide them everywhere – a problem that oddly I didn’t have in Arkham Asylum. Is that odd?) But in terms of cinematic spectacle and total immersion, Bioshock wins.
Welcome to Rapture 
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
A common problem with dialogue (if not storytelling) in games is rarely down to the acting these days but more the pacing of a scene. One of the surprise joys of playing LA Noire is recognising a plethora of ’that guy from that show’ cameos because their features have been motion-captured so vividly in performance and likeness. (When I excitedly learned that John Noble/aka. Walter Bishop from Fringe was in the game, I wondered who he’d play…only to realise he’d be playing the guy who looked exactly like John Noble!!):
But even with LA Noire’s star-studded cast and some of my other favourites (above), it still feels like the actors were recorded separately. So the half of acting that’s re-acting is noticeably glossed past (luckily I’m often watching the decor anyway). The mighty Ken Levine has stated he is working on this for Bioshock: Infinite by recording the leads together and even working on the script with them so maybe this will become a thing of the past. Fingers crossed.
Another issue is can you really tell if the acting excels if the dialogue is only so-so? Again, we’re missing the physical presence of the actors in games so a look simply can’t say it all. And while I think the acting in big cinematic treats like Red Dead Redemption and LA Noire is good, because the nature of the story feels like it’s trying to cram an entire genre into one story
Of course, one game neatly gets round a lot of this. I ‘awarded’ it best gameplay…but without the performance (of hilarious dialogue) it wouldn’t have been the same game. The Best Voice Acting award goes to Ellen McLain for the role of…
(special mention also goes to the genius JK Simmons as Cave Johnson in Portal 2 )
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
As soon as Mass Effect 3 comes out, part of me suspects that I’ll vanish from the face of the Earth for a year and campaign my way through the whole trilogy. But as I’m getting married this year, that might not be the best way to endear myself to the lovely poor old Heather. Then again, the game I really do want to play this year is hardly any better as it’s all about having an affair. Heather – please don’t leave me!!
Already released overseas last year, Atlus’ Catherine made a lot of ‘Best Of’ lists (here’s Gamasutra’s) as a novel choose your own adventure…well, novel. But also one where the philandering protagonist Vincent’s nightmares take the shape of hugely symbolic platform games full of shame, guilt and fear (and climbing, lots of climbing). I still haven’t played Batman: Arkham City yet so you’d think that would be the priority. But in a way, I know that that’s going to be excellent (plus is only going to get cheaper!) so I’m saving getting that for when I really need that tried and tested hit of ultimate Holy Bat-escapism.
So in wanting to try something new, I already feel like I’m cheating on Batman. Then it comes to actually buying Catherine. For starters, it’s being marketed like Manga Porn. Sure, the point is that you’re attracted to new girl Catherine (while still in love with girlfriend Katherine) but…well, googling images from the game or its adverts for this post could have looked quite embarrassing if anyone was peering over my shoulder 
It’s that age-old thing that we’re fine with violence in our media (ok, kinda) but we’re still a bit funny about the sex. So, with 20 different endings depending on how you play, I’m curious to see what’s beneath the sexy marketing.
Honest.
(Or for less Freudian revelations, I’m also really looking forward to Silent Hill: Downpour and Bioshock: Infinite. Two very un-psychological games. Yeesh, what’s wrong with me? )
Monday, January 16th, 2012
‘Epic’ is a word that’s become quite a frustrating buzzword when describing games, but when I first bought my second-hand Super Nintendo with a bundle of games I was ignorant of (having had my eye on games like the ones mentioned in my guilty pleasure games post), but one game stood out from the various Street Fighter IIs and Mario Karts it arrived with for obvious reasons. A Link to the Past is the only Legend of Zelda title I’ve played, but as well as being one my favourites ever, it’s easy to see what a formative step it was in shaping me as a gamer.
I’ve always enjoyed games in the same way I enjoy books, working my way from beginning to end with a story good enough that I would happily play it again and this was the first game where I experienced that. In the same way that the best part of a book in my opinion is being somewhere in its middle, coming home from school and vanishing off to Hyrule for an hour or so each night was a very different gaming experience.
This isn’t to diss Super Mario World which also had its save function but the difference between the two games was that with Link, I could just wander around hacking up hedges or playing that archery mini-game to win MORE RUPEES!!! …and that could be the story if I wanted it to be.
In a bundle of racing, fighting or platforming games, this was the first game I really experienced the sense of exploration or free reign that I hadn’t really had before (unless you count deliberately driving the wrong way round the track in Super Mario Kart when you realise you’ve already lost and are now just pretending you weren’t interested in winning to begin with). The first time you discover there’s a whole other Dark World to explore just when you think you’re at the end was the first time I’d ever experienced a ‘twist’. Plus how can you not love the fact you turn into a bunny when you go through the portal if you don’t have the right magical protection? 
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
Improvements in CG graphics mean that games are starting to look more and more like movies while, at the same time, a lot of the big movies are starting to increasingly look like games (and even be plotted like them – I’m looking at you Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull!). So I always find it a nice surprise when a game turns up saying ‘hello, suspend your disbelief, eh?’ As a comic fan, the cel-shading techniques (as well as the original comic’s conspiracy plots) of XIII on the Xbox appealed (and were seemingly paving the way to the 100 Bullets game that Acclaim were developing until they went bankrupt 
).
Perhaps the trouble with games seemingly targeting audiences through specific visual styles is that the rest of the game’s players (perhaps not as enthralled by comic book visuals) will notice more what’s lacking in the gameplay. XIII got a lot of praise for its storytelling and style but was criticised as a first-person shooter game. Hopefully its re-invention last year as a puzzle game in XIII: Lost Identity (from which the above picture is taken) will be a more appropriate fit.
But, looking back at the 100 Bullets trailer, it all seems a bit violent anyway (or perhaps I’m mellowing out) so the game that appealed the most visually in recent years has been Child of Eden. Much as I admire Portal for its subversion of FPS-mechanics, I really love the conceit of Child of Eden‘s premise that you’re ‘cleansing’ a sentient AI from infection (ie – shooting everything). I think it looks amazing and original while still maintaining the polygon appeal of older games.
Sadly, despite a lot of buzz, I don’t think its sales last year were very high which I suspect was due it falling between the two stools of being controller-friendly or if you needed the Kinect (or similar) to get the most from it. Personally, while I admire the way the Kinect, Playstation Move and the Wii etc have allowed brilliant new ways into videogames for new audiences, to me it still feels like somebody trying to put me on a trampoline while I’m trying to enjoy a book. So the controller is fine for me as, in a world where most games seem intent on using every shade of brown on the colour wheel, its easy to see why something like Child of Eden stands out.
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Half the reason for the hiatus on my 30 Days challenge was that I was struggling with this question. Games are a bit too expensive for me to buy without pretty much knowing that I’m going to enjoy it so I’ve gone for Resident Evil 5 - which I confess I’ve only played a demo of. Not a badly made game by any stretch, but it never clicked for me as it seemed to be trying to do too much at once. I know that the Resident Evil series already made the move from survival horror into a more general action-orientated oeuvre with its fourth game, but RE5 felt a little too much like it had looked around and seen what was popular in franchises like Gears of War or even other zombie franchises and never comfortably found its own footing.
This isn’t to say that I am just being snobbish about action games in a way that arguments erupt between which is better out of Alien (SF horror) vs Aliens (SF action) – the final answer of course being they’re both amazing – but, for all its genre-switching, Aliens felt hugely original and necessary in a way that an ‘Alien 2′ would not have. My problem with Resident Evil 5 is that it changed its gameplay style but almost apologetically by throwing more and more story stalwarts like Albert Wesker in as if to try and convince us that yes this is still a Resident Evil game.
I’m fully prepared to admit that I perhaps have a rose-tinted view of the early Resident Evil games in the golden age of survival horror – but the fact is, I am looking forward to the next Resident Evil movie far more than the next Resident Evil game.
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
I thought I’d be on my own for not really minding Watchmen prequel stories if and when they appear. Sure people are griping about it but yet the petition going around the internet has only raised a paltry one hundred odd signatures so it suggests at least some curiosity (or the idea that most comic book fans are happy to wait and see reviews or even reading something themselves before passing a judgement).
I’ve just had an article published at What Culture about five things I’d like to see in an expanded Watchmen universe. Please have a read here. Or, if you don’t like any of those, maybe we should just have a sequel instead where Doctor Manhattan comes back to Earth and kicks humanity’s ass because he’s bored… Anyway, here’s the article.
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
I know it had already won Natalie Portman her Oscar by the time it was released over here, but Black Swan is still my film of the year. Working at the Showroom, I noticed a lot of audiences caught up in Oscar buzz forgetting that they probably wouldn’t like a psychological thriller and then getting strangely angry (this also led to a strange incident where a customer, so keen to avoid eye contact with me, walked straight into a wall. Does that count as a film highlight of the year? )
But anyway, this job meant I saw a great many films this year that I more than likely would never have seen at the cinema and may even have missed on DVD. In alphabetical order, here’s some.
Animal Kingdom – This was probably my most pleasant surprise of the year. A really engrossing rites of passage story all jumbled up with a crime drama. Hit all the interpersonal notes for me that Shane Meadows’ stuff does for a lot of others. Anything that leaves you upset when bad guys die will win my vote. Trailer here.
Beginners – This was definitely the year I went a little mushy and made a bee-line for anything bittersweet. It definitely tried a little hard to squeeze all its heart and heartache into a 3-act structure but the tremendous pathos (plus a dog’s subtitled thoughts) stole the show. Trailer here.
Bobby Fischer Against The World – The message I took about chess ‘legend’ Bobby Fischer is that I’m surprised more geniuses don’t suffer the same mental tragedies and how early moves can dictate the rest of the game/your life. Trailer here.
Drive – A film on a lot of this year’s top 10 lists. Making a retro 80s thriller as an arthouse movie was an inspired touch, but I definitely preferred the silent attraction between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan to some of the ‘ultraviolence’ that came later. But Albert Brooks is definitely my villain of the year. Trailer here. (also, trailer of the year?)
Julia’s Eyes – A film seemingly right up my cup of tea but which fell into two halves – an episode of The X-Files and an episode of Cracker. Both halves were strong but just didn’t gel for me despite Belén Rueda’s showing lazy ‘female thriller victims’ how it should be done. Trailer here.
Kill List – I didn’t fully love or hate this film as strongly as most seemed to but found it fascinating and kept me thinking for days afterwards trying to decipher its denouement. Definitely more David Lynch than The Wicker Man but also some brilliant gallows humour throughout and well worth watching. Trailer here.
Melancholia – Possibly the first Lars Von Trier film that’s made go ‘oooh’ on hearing the concept (not least because it was similar to a project I was developing a few years ago – only mine was also a romcom). This was a strangely hypnotic film with an intriguing premise of a depressive being validated by all things apocalyptic. Strangely engaging. Trailer here.
Midnight in Paris – While Rachel McAdams’ selfish fiancee role was a bum note in terms of writing (McAdams was lovely as ever), it felt like the only bum note in this Parisian time travel love letter perfectly sculpted for Owen Wilson. (even if the Ernest Hemingway cameo steals the film). I also love how any hint of time-travel was removed from the US ad campaign. Trailer here.
Point Blank – 84 minutes of captivating excitement from the director of Anything for Her (remade as Russell Crowe’s The Next 3 Days). If I’d seen this film before I’d written my ‘Good Writing as Special Effects‘ post, the surveillance camera scene would have been number one. Trailer here.
Potiche – A lovely treat for Heather’s birthday. Catherine Deneuve was awesome as the trophy wife who turns her misogynist husband’s striking company around. Despite the 70s chic, the film was pleasantly unironic and we forgot we were reading subtitles (always a good sign). Plus Gérard Depardieu’s flirty dancing. Trailer here.
The Tree of Life – I didn’t really enjoy this film, but I still appreciate having seen it. Overall it felt like I was having an epiphany unsubtly described to me rather than being made to experience one so I was left a little cold. But, as well as the lesson on how to overblow an ending, I enjoyed the dinosaurs and the 50s Americana. But if I’m admiring the historical trousers, then chances are the plot has lost me. Trailer here.
The Silent House – Made to appear as if shot in one continuous take, The Silent House at once shows there are still fresh ways to create haunting atmospheres and scary moments…even if the third act made sigh heavily at the same old twist. A lesson on innovation for low-budget film makers and a cautionary tale for scriptwriters. Trailer here.
So that’s my year’s terrace of art-houses. I still really really want to see The Artist, I’ve posted before about my enjoyment of this year’s lower scale science fiction movies and also really enjoyed the unexpected quality of Rise of The Planet of The Apes. But beyond that (and needing to see Black Swan again), I enjoyed 2011 as a year where you could often see through the noise and be pleasantly surprised.
How about you? And Happy New Year, chums!
Monday, December 5th, 2011
*Contains Spoilers for Silent Hill 2*
There’s arguments either way for ‘games just being games’ rather than trying to be ‘interactive movies’. So my vote is for a story that’s film-like but wouldn’t necessarily have worked as a film, dream-logic and all, so succeeds as more of an interactive nightmare. I remember some complaints about Silent Hill 2 being too short but from my point of view, it just meant the story was more focused. It even featured a little prequel game also on the disk that expanded the story for the character of Maria which was an idea I loved as it added extra depth but without interfering with the main drive of the story – also ensuring that Maria was not just what could easily have been a ‘plot device’ character.
The story of haunted James Sunderland receiving a letter from his late wife Mary asking him to meet her at ‘their special place’ in Silent Hill (presumably before it looked like Hell) is a nice clear break from the brilliant original. In particular, I loved the idea that Silent Hill was different for every visitor and so was a different experience than for Harry in SH 1.
The story’s twist – that James actually killed his sick wife – is a classic ‘and it turned out *I* was the killer’ kinda reveal, blatantly obvious in a million B-movies. And yet I didn’t see it coming this time as (I’m stoopid? Or…) the game did well not to set up a twist, rather gradually set the main character to confront his wife’s death and his grief and guilt.
I’m not saying the game is a delicate Million Dollar Baby-style drama on love and euthanasia, but the different endings the game provides, either punishing you for your guilt or allowing you to redeem yourself in your own eyes (and neither ultimately forgiving you) are based on the way you act around the character of Maria – your wife’s confused doppelganger – instead of the more obvious ‘did you save your daughter?’ of the first game.
Here the monsters became more emblematic, moving away from the usual survival horror science fiction of Resident Evil and going for something far more psychological. Including who the real monsters were.
Sunday, December 4th, 2011
It can’t just be me that thinks a lot of game genres are merging. But for better or worse? Triple-A Games get bigger and longer and so developers add more gameplay-styles to avoid their titles feeling repetitive. So I have no idea what genre many games I like are without listing many, many categories or just broadly chucking it under the catch-all ‘Action-Adventure‘ (so… not sports games anyway).
I can’t not mention Survival Horror and, in particular, what many consider the ‘Golden Age’ of Silent Horror. In much the same way I learned a great deal about narrative in general from the horror genre and then Blake Synder‘s ‘Monster in the House‘ genre tropes (and still use Jaws as an example of best practice in about 90% of my screenwriting notes), Survival Horror struck a chord with me in terms of game design and storytelling.
I know the white whale of video games seems to be a game that can make the player cry, but I still think a game that makes you scared – not just jump out of your seat but actually scared – while you’re playing is an achievement.
‘Open-world‘ is probably something I’m incredibly drawn to – especially the feel that you’re free to roam even though you’re still being steered by a story. My trouble at the moment is too much dead space in between searchable areas so I love the idea of the ‘City Block’ game where EVERY room in every apartment and every character is potentially part of your story - although I appreciate that creating whole cities or worlds can seem more of a draw to audiences.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the upcoming intriguing-looking Silent Hill: Downpour might be able to rekindle my passion for survival horror, especially if utilising certain open world techniques. Also, I just hope it’s good.
In short though, in terms of favourite genre anything where I can somehow feel like I’m wandering through an episode of The Twilight Zone will do me nicely.