Sho-Ryu-No! Don't Jump, Damnit!

In a burst of nostalgia, I spent some of the money I got for Christmas on some Microsoft points and bought myself Street Fighter II HD Remix, or SF2HDR.  I'm currently trying to decide if I was always so bad at the game, or if I can get away with blaming the 360 controller for a little bit longer.

It's really, and some might say paradoxically, refreshing to play a 2D beat-em-up.  I've always found that 3D fighters are a little bit too easy and I end up rattling through the game much too quickly.  Street Fighter 2 has also always had a really nice balance between the fighters, which I didn't really appreciate back in 1992.  I know Capcom have done a lot of tweaking for this edition, but that's really more for the hardcore tournament players.

I need to get some of my mates round.

To Japan!

 

  

This is a bit of an old one, but it's stuck in my mind.  Way back in October, a talented gamer doctored a picture of Faith from Mirrors Edge  to appeal to Japanese tastes (It's the one on the right, in case you weren't sure).  A couple of months later, Tom Farrer, the game's producer, was shown the image and had this to say:

“We wanted her to be attractive, but we didn’t want her to be a supermodel. We wanted her to be approachable and far more real. It was just kind of depressing that someone thinks it would be better if Faith was a 12-year-old with a boob job. That was kind of what that image looked to me.”

Now, aside from the fact that Farrer has massively missed the point, it raises an interesting question about the vast cultural differences between 'the West' and Japan. I moderate on the Escapist and often people will comment that the Japanese are 'weird'.

It's clear from the two images that Japanese standards of beauty are significantly different than those in the West, but it belies a difference in attitudes and outlook that means we in the West rarely get to see some of Japan's more interesting games, outside of importing them.

Games like Katamari Damacy, shows us what Japan is up to when they aren't making games specifically for Western audiences.  I think there is a tendency amongst Western developers to think of games as being analogous to movies, which limits their thinking.

Japanese developers, by contrast, seem to be drawing on a much different well of inspiration, often creating games that baffle us gaijin with their quirkiness.

I can't help but feel that we are missing out by not getting to experience these games.  We're getting to a stage in the West where only sequels to proven franchises can make any real money, and a shot of weirdness (and apparently, a lot of boobs), might just be what we need to inspire us to make more interesting games.

Who knows, perhaps it's time to start learning Japanese?

Suda 51 - Image Conscious As Ever.

Suda 51 has been talking about a follow up to No More Heroes.  Now, the Wii may have sold millions of units but its library of titles is minuscule if you want something more than family-orientated shovelware.  NMH was one of the few titles of 2008 that offered something to hardcore gamers.

While I applaud Suda51's dedication to the Wii, I can't help but feel that he's doing it for the wrong reasons.  It seems to me like he's more concerned with maintaining his image as an oddball outsider, not wanting to make a great game for the console.

For example:

"One of the main reasons why we're back on Wii is because of the controller. When we released the first one on Wii, you had this feeling just finished with moving the controller; it was really good.

So, if we released it on Xbox 360, for example, we'd have to rethink this feeling. I wanted to keep the game's controller gimmick, so that's why the fighting was more fitting on Wii, rather than on other platforms."

Gimmick huh?  No More Heroes makes such bad use of the Wii-Mote that to claim that it's one of the reasons that you're staying with the console is ludicrous.  I don't want to rant about Suda51, but I'm not sure that he's the sort of developer that the Wii needs.  

Update:  It occurs to me that making poor use of the Wii controller isn't exactly compelling evidence for damning Suda51.

My problem with Suda51 is that he seems to be selling games based on his reputation and unlike people like Warren Spector, Will Wright or Gabe Newell, he doesn't a long list of amazing games to his name.  There is absolutely no reason that he couldn't develop games for the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but by sticking with the Wii, he maintains a mystique that he is outside the normal sphere of game development and that his games are somehow much closer to 'art' than anyone elses.

As an example, NMH is repetitive and badly designed, with a plot that makes no sense whatsoever and a thoroughly loathsome main character; but of course, the game is satirical.

I'm sorry Mr. 51, but no, it isn't.

Actually, that's not exactly fair.  It certainly tries to be satirical, but rather than making digs at the hubris of modern games, it indulges in them, and then expects us to be impressed at how perceptive it is.  I'm sorry, but you don't get any points for that.  If you want to make games that take the piss out of other games, you have to be able to make better games than the competition.

On reflection, it's not just the Wii that can do without Suda51, I think that gaming in general would be better off without him.

On Innovation

While I was browsing my RSS feeds, I came across this little gem.  It appears that the producer of the new Prince of Persia wanted a few 'virtual pats-on-the-back' for the innovation in his game.

Alas Mr Producer, I have some news for you.

Innovation alone, isn't enough.  

Ignoring for a moment that the latest Prince of Persia is hardly what I would call innovative, it simply isn't enough to just have a new idea.  As counter-intuative as that sounds, the implementation is easily just as important, if not more important, than the idea itself.  The typical consumer cares very little for advances in AI or physics, except for how it directly influences gameplay.  Getting excited about that sort of thing remains the purview of the hardcore gamer. 

If you want your innovation to be well received by the general public and gaming media, you need to make sure that it's being used in a good game.  Prince of Persia suffered because the addition of Elika as a roving checkpoint (thanks to Susan Arendt for that one), removed any challenge from an already easy game and the open world makes the whole thing feel unfocused.  Add the repetitive platformer/scavenger hunt gameplay into the mix, and it's not hard to see why his 'innovative' game was not heralded as a masterpiece.

As a counterpoint to Prince of Persia, Portal is a innovative game that is every bit the media darling, and much beloved by gamers.  The reason for this though, is not just the novel concept at the core of the game, but the brilliantly dark comedy of the writing.  Would Portal have been so successful without the humour?  We'll never know for sure, but my money is on 'no'.  The point is that by making the innovation part of a compelling gaming experience, the innovation is well received.

In an increasingly stagnant industry, publishers and developers should be lauded for taking risks and trying new things, but if you're going to try and convince people to buy your game based on the strength of your idea, you better make sure it's a bloody good one.