Metroid, Video Game Evil, and other things
First and foremost I would like to say I removed the need for people to register to post comments. Sorry about that. I am new to this whole blog thing. As a matter of fact, as simple as HTML is I suck at that too. So you will no doubt notice this blog run through a bit of 'da roughness as I get used to it. I apologize in advance.
Secondly, my Friend Timmeh says HERE that he hates the Metroid franchise. I am of two minds on this. On one hand, all of his comments are completely valid. I would dare say that I completely agree with him, and if that game (the game in question is Metroid Fusion for GBA) were any other game or a nameless non-franchise I would probably not have forgiven it. But I beg Tim and any others who haven’t had the pleasure to play Super Metroid on the SNES. It is, for lack of a better word, the Video Game Design Mecca if you will. It is done flawlessly and even does tutorials without tutorial VO or text.
For example, there is a spot where you fall down a deep, deep pit in Super Metroid. Its like 5 screens deep (remember its 2D we are talking about). You get there with no way up. Not only that, you look around down there in that pit and there is no ladder or jumping platforms or nada. You are STUCK my friend. But, the only way to reach this pit is via the dash boots. AND the only place to get the SUPER JUMP boots are down in the pit. Now super jump alone can't get you out. You have to do this dash into super jump. This is done by running really fast with dash, ducking to charge your jump, and then jumping. Its complex, and even though the move is in the manual NOBODY reads that. So what did Nintendo do? They have a neutral AI in there just CONSTANTLY doing this maneuver. Over and over. Dash, duck, jump up the pit. Fall back down. Dash, duck, jump up the pit. Fall back down. Eventually you mimic it (it can't be killed or shot) and you get out. Great shit.
Now there are two ways to look at the above. Opinion 1 (mine) believes this is the best way to show players without LOOKING like you are showing them so that they have a sense of accomplishment for getting out of the pit. Opinion 2 (I suspect Mr. Tim) believes that the game should just fucking get off the pot and tell the player how to get out, because this is a shoot aliens game, not a get stuck in a frustrating pit game. Who is right? Who can say. I find that if I make a game for myself I go for opinion1. If I make a game for mass-market I go for opinion2. And that is life.
Lets talk a bit about video game violence and the children. Let’s be straight here. These same games are available in Europe, Australia, China, Japan, and the moon. The only place where the school is being shot up is in the USA (well, there are school STABBINGS in Japan but that is another story). And guess what? The USA also has a SHITLOAD of firearms that are easily accessible. Hmm... NAH ITS THE INDUSTRY THAT IS TO BLAME!!! I actually wish they would just enforce (card, what have you) the ratings that exist now. Maybe people would get off our backs. I just worry that video games will be dragged into the same category as porn or what have you and then not be allowed on shelves or in easy reach of children. Can you imagine having to have the same guy who hands you "Debbie does Dallas" for the latest Mario game behind the shelf? Good god we need a better set of priorities.
Wow this ran long. Enjoy your day. Thanks for reading!
Secondly, my Friend Timmeh says HERE that he hates the Metroid franchise. I am of two minds on this. On one hand, all of his comments are completely valid. I would dare say that I completely agree with him, and if that game (the game in question is Metroid Fusion for GBA) were any other game or a nameless non-franchise I would probably not have forgiven it. But I beg Tim and any others who haven’t had the pleasure to play Super Metroid on the SNES. It is, for lack of a better word, the Video Game Design Mecca if you will. It is done flawlessly and even does tutorials without tutorial VO or text.
For example, there is a spot where you fall down a deep, deep pit in Super Metroid. Its like 5 screens deep (remember its 2D we are talking about). You get there with no way up. Not only that, you look around down there in that pit and there is no ladder or jumping platforms or nada. You are STUCK my friend. But, the only way to reach this pit is via the dash boots. AND the only place to get the SUPER JUMP boots are down in the pit. Now super jump alone can't get you out. You have to do this dash into super jump. This is done by running really fast with dash, ducking to charge your jump, and then jumping. Its complex, and even though the move is in the manual NOBODY reads that. So what did Nintendo do? They have a neutral AI in there just CONSTANTLY doing this maneuver. Over and over. Dash, duck, jump up the pit. Fall back down. Dash, duck, jump up the pit. Fall back down. Eventually you mimic it (it can't be killed or shot) and you get out. Great shit.
Now there are two ways to look at the above. Opinion 1 (mine) believes this is the best way to show players without LOOKING like you are showing them so that they have a sense of accomplishment for getting out of the pit. Opinion 2 (I suspect Mr. Tim) believes that the game should just fucking get off the pot and tell the player how to get out, because this is a shoot aliens game, not a get stuck in a frustrating pit game. Who is right? Who can say. I find that if I make a game for myself I go for opinion1. If I make a game for mass-market I go for opinion2. And that is life.
Lets talk a bit about video game violence and the children. Let’s be straight here. These same games are available in Europe, Australia, China, Japan, and the moon. The only place where the school is being shot up is in the USA (well, there are school STABBINGS in Japan but that is another story). And guess what? The USA also has a SHITLOAD of firearms that are easily accessible. Hmm... NAH ITS THE INDUSTRY THAT IS TO BLAME!!! I actually wish they would just enforce (card, what have you) the ratings that exist now. Maybe people would get off our backs. I just worry that video games will be dragged into the same category as porn or what have you and then not be allowed on shelves or in easy reach of children. Can you imagine having to have the same guy who hands you "Debbie does Dallas" for the latest Mario game behind the shelf? Good god we need a better set of priorities.
Wow this ran long. Enjoy your day. Thanks for reading!
3 Comments:
Hmm. Let me see . . .
Step 1) Buy a SNES
Step 2) Find a copy of Super Metroid
Step 3) Play until I find this pit.
I dunno somehow I think I'll just take your word for it :-) I'm not prepared to argue that Super Metroid wasn't fabulous back in the day - I'll concede that it was a shining example of 16-bit gameplay. But the industry should have moved on to bigger and better designs. There might be a lot to learn from Metroid, but I think there are elements to be jettisoned as well. Blowing up every wall in case there is a secret behind it is one of them . . . .
Well, I'd be happy to play the SNES version if there were some reasonable way to get my hands on it. Say if they released it on a GBA cart. Speaking of which, I just finished playing the hell out of Mario vs. Donkey Kong and I expect to be on a plane soon - any suggestions for a game to get? I've already dealt with Aria of Sorrow, Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission, but something along the 2D platformer or RPG lines would be good.
Also, WTF is up with public figures saying idiotic stuff? You're secretary of Education for the state of CA, for God's sakes.
(crap my earlier post must've defaulted to anonymous, sorry)
I disagree with the proposal, but your Mario comparison is ridiculous. They're specifically targeting mature titles, right?
The thing that gets me is that the games industry has gone out of its way to create the ESRB, and encourages the distinction between games for kids vs. games for adults (and some granularity therein). However the customers and moreover RETAIL where these games are sold, the ball is dropped. Oddly enough, the common reaction is to put the onus back on publishers to limit themselves.
The solution of putting games behind the counter is also inappropriate. The imagery on a box is not like imagery from Hustler. If there's sex on it, it's probably about as racy as anything from the impulse-buy magazine rack at the supermarket. It's simply unbalanced, and unfair to commerce -- People who go to physical locations to buy their games are going to want to browse. Asking the clerk if you can hold a copy of "Death by Gib-Rocket" is just one more step preventing sales. On the plus side, it might prevent the clueless parents from buying GTA for their seven-year-olds.
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