Digital Futurism and Computer Games: Preliminary Thoughts on an Ideal.

In 1909, Italian writer Fillipo Marinetti and his contemporaries expounded the virtues and ideals of Futurism in the Founding and Manifesto of Futurism. This movement was the opening salvo in the Modernist retaliation against Realism and Romanticism.  By way of an auto accident, Marinetti embraced the Industrial Age with violent passion.

According to the Manifesto, the Futurists embraced speed,  aggression,  war, and the machines that executed these ideals. Futurist paintings and sculpture attempted to capture speed and momentum.  Familiar subjects increasingly blurred into unrecognizable maelstroms of color as the movement progressed. In the theater, angular sets featured actors donned in robotic costumes while impossible-looking instruments simultaneously attempted to assault the ears.

The grotesque horror of machine and chemical warfare in World War One curbed the enthusiasms of Futurism and many of its adherents already had moved on to other Modernist forms of expression. As the twentieth century crossed the halfway point, Postmodernism reared it’s amorphous and indefinable head.  As I write, New Media artists are attempting to fuse the aesthetics of Futurist art into their installations and works.

What fascinates me more than the look of Futurism are the ideals contained in the Manifesto.  Although rough and preliminary, I speculate that many of the claims made can be reworked and fashioned into a Futurist manifesto regarding  Computer Games and gaming itself. Realistically, some of Marinetti’s claims are chauvinistic and antiquated;  however, you can’t make an omelets without breaking a few eggs…and some eggs will see some damage here.

It’s an interesting project idea and requires some consideration and would require a modicum of research.  Hopefully, my interest won’t sputter out on this.  I’ll keep you posted.

-R.

Free 2 Play MMO Hunt Pt. two: Cartoon WWII-like Violence

War in computer games is often a bloody, gory mess filled with more grit than you can shake a M60 at. In three simple words: War is Hell.  However,  in the case of EA’s free 2 play Battlefield: Heroes...war is heck. BF Heroes is a stripped-down version of the popular Battlefield series. The mainstream commercial versions take the player through large-scale, multiplayer battles set during various times in history (WWII, Modern Day, Star Wars universe…yes, Star Wars, etc.) BF Heroes’ setting is a cartoonish, sanitized version of Europe during World War II. The player can raise a soldier as one of  the English-like Royals or the German-like Nationals. Once you get going you will be thrust into a couple of gameplay modes that mainly deal you taking a position and holding on to it. Like many free 2 play MMOs, items can be purchased by earning game money through playing.  However, in BF Heroes’ case the bulk of the game money is only earned by winning…kid you not. That’s pretty hardcore. Like other games, special items can be purchased with real money.

The Allied British-y Royals

It’s a pretty solid game with very high production values and a light, breezy sense of humor. I would recommend this game to anyone who wants to get their war on, but is put off by the controversy and seriousness of CoD: Modern Warfare 2.  Here’s the break down:

Pros

• Great looking game, especially for a free one.
• The Battlefield formula still works here, which is a nice combo of strategy and action.
• You can drive jeeps, tanks and even airplanes (or hitch a ride on them)!
• Cartoon violence may make it appropriate for your tweens or young teen

Cons

• Leveling is a grind. It took me forever just to get to level 10.
• You can’t pick your server or room, you get thrown into one other players.
• I repeat, your team has to win to get game munny.
• A little too few maps and game modes, which limits my playing time.

I’ll keep in touch.

-R.

A Five Years Mission

Seriously, sometimes I think I was born perhaps five years early.

I’ve got the soul of a 29-year old and the body of a 67-year old.

In the gaming sense, I think that I would feel more comfortable with the constantly-changing landscape.

Perhaps I would be looking forward to the PS3’s motion controllers and 3D glasses.

I don’t think it will be 3D. From what I surmise, the near-future of gaming will involved the further erosion of the boundaries between player and game. This will be done through innovations in the way that people will control their avatars, giving them a greater sense of agency. Think of the interface that Tom Cruise’s character used in Minority Report…

As I peruse tech blogs, that is becoming more of a reality. Frankly, I would miss the controller in my hands. Having, what Janet Murray called a “Threshold Object” cradled between my digits is what keeps each of my size 13 feet planted in both worlds. I believe it’s the tactile interface that keeps us from being totally sucked into a digital space. What would happen to emotionally compromised individuals when they confuse their material identity for their virtual one? Here’s the thing: I don’t mean to spread fear like many a vote-grubbing politician. I believe in the first amendment rights of game developers. But I believe the thing that keeps  the Jack Thompsons of the world at bay is that bit of plastic and wiring with the candy-colored buttons.

Perhaps I wouldn’t worry so much if I was five years younger.

However, my age gives me perspective that minus five years would grant me (in the gaming sense, at least).

Would I still have had my experiences with the Commodore 128 (in C=64 mode of course) that gives me appreciation for the advances in PC gaming since 1985?

By the way Archon was, and still is… awesome. If you can find a way to play it: play it.

Would I still understand the affects of the video game crash of the early 80s and its affects on console platforms on an intimate level?

Indeed, I did have E.T. for the Atari 2600.

I also got to see the rebirth of the console in the form of the NES in 1986 (I got the one with R.O.B. for Xmas) and the first-generation Game Boy.

So…maybe not being five years younger has its bonuses.

-R.

Bioshock Infinite: Some Quick Comments

Visiting the website of PC Gamer magazine left me optimistic, yet a little wary of Irrational Games’ upcoming entry in the Bioshock franchise. Retro-Futurist fans rejoice! Bioshock Infinite transports us to an Industrial Age America where the Rapture-like metropolis of Columbia floats in the air.  The steampunk aesthetic seems a reasonable choice considering the Art Deco environments of Rapture.

Along with many who posted on PC Gamer, I greatly anticipate immersing myself in the world of Columbia in the same way I was enchanted with Andrew Ryan’s ill-fated experiment. However…

Hopefully it will not be so derivative of the first game that it will feel like playing a mod.  Regardless, I excitedly await.

A parting thought related to Bioshock…

I recently visited New York, New York casino and resort.

I was incredibly creeped-out by the casino floor/restaurants as it overwhelmingly reminded me of Rapture. At the same time, I LOVED it!

Next Posts: My research, More memories and More MMO-hunt.

Combat Arms and the Great MMO Hunt

Do you like First-Person Shooters?

Do you like Multiplayer mode?

Do you like it when writers begin their posts with a barrage of questions in order to pique your interest?

If so, check out Combat Arms (CA). It’s a Free 2 Play Massive Multiplayer FPS.

Originating in Korea, CA has been brought over and localized by Nexon.

Players earn GP (game points) and EP (experience points) while competing in several different game modes on a surprisingly plentiful number of maps.  Over time, your virtual avatar will advance in rank, earning large sums of GP to spend on temporary weapons and gear at an in-game shop.

Like many Free 2 Play MMOs, Combat Arms uses microtransactions of real money to purchase NX points. With NX points, additional weapons and equipment can be purchased.

However, the weapons purchased with GP are pretty good, and a decent player can stand toe-to-toe with those who pay moolah for their stuff. In other words: pay money only if you really, really want to make an investment it the game.

I played more than a year before I actually forked something over to Nexon. If you do pay money, I would recommending spending it on GP and EXP bonuses to increase your rank and GP income. GP is gained easily enough (although I advise frugality), but ranking up gets harder as you progress. I’m near the verge of getting my first officer rank (2nd Lieutenant) and it’s a grind sometimes.

The graphics are not cutting-edge, so it will play on somewhat older graphic cards. However, I would recommend having a high-speed connection in order to cut down on the lag problems.

So to sum it up.

PROS:

• Will play on most PCs purchased within the last 3-4 years. Although I’m not sure about netbooks.
• Nice variety of game modes, from simple deathmatches to a bargain-bin version of Left 4 Dead.
• Easy to get into a room and play, easy to start your own and invite people.
• Fairly easy learning curve with a new tutorial map, although getting good enough to stand up against hackers is a challenge. Which brings me to…

CONS:

• Hackers,.Glitchers. Get used to them. Ignore them if you want to derive any pleasure from this game. However, if you get good, you can teach them a lesson.
• Getting good. Yeah, expect to die a lot at first. Even playing with other newbs, it was tough at first.  As I stand now, I’m not bad at it now. I can even place first every now and then. Be patient.
• Trash talk. Just be try and ignore the thousands of adolescent males and their banter.  Every time I’m accused of being a hacker (meaning: I smoked their bee-hinds), I just have to grit my teeth and be the better guy…on most occasions.

Hopefully, I’ll return with some more Free 2 Play MMO goodness. Never in my youth did I ever imagine that…what??…I can play video games for free???

Now I can.

It still blows my wittle mind.

-R.

Video Game Memories: part one

This will be the first in a series of posts that will provide a personal, qualitative study into my own life as a gamer. I propose that there is a philosophical, and perhaps spiritual connection between gamer and digital games.

Part One: Combat.

For most of the gamers that I met in my undergrad studies, their first love (in gaming) was with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), or the Super Nintendo (SNES). They were the group of gamers that have fond recollections of stomping gombas, whipping Dracula to death (at least, until next time!) and getting KO’d by Tyson’s ferocious (…and did I mention “cheap”? ) uppercut. However, by the NES’s release in late 1985, home console gaming had already been around for more than a decade.

My life as a gamer began six years prior to the NES’s entrance into the lives of Americans. On Christmas of 1979, my father presented a used (from my uncle) Atari VCS or 2600 to my two older brothers and I. It was already connected to the color TV.

Side Note: Remember those TVs that had the remote control that made a high-pitched buzzing noise when the button was pressed? Remember how weird it felt to put your tongue on the part where the signal came out?  (…ok, it was just me then.)

When that TV blinked into life, I was greeted with my first console game. The pack-in game Combat. Combat was the home version of the arcade game Tank! The objective was to manuver your tank (as the pixelated glob on the screen was supposed to be) into a firing position and blow away your opponent. When a tank gets hit, the tank spun like a pinwheel.

As with learning how to play chess (I learned how to play by age six) , my first antagonist was my father. In an Oedipal feat of skill, I defeated my father. Thinking on that night now, he may have let me win. Either through pity or inexperience, that was the only time I beat him at Combat.

Up to the age of ten, my father was the one who introduced me to home gaming experiences. For good or ill, I have him to thank for my start.

NEXT: Chuck E. Cheese, P.J. Pizazz, Showboat and Divorce.

Verily, Thy Pants Art on Yonder Ground

…with your pants on the ground.

Crazy phenomenon, right?

I know that I totally missed the train on this song. However, “General” Larry Platt’s diatribe on urban youth culture has caught on quickly. I’m thinking of the ways why it was so effective…I mean…it’s catchy, that’s for sure. However, I think that the audience was ready for it.

1. Really, I think that many communities may be tired of the style itself. I’m guessing that when Platt was fighting for civil rights and helping his community, he didn’t imagine that two generations later that many would be copying fashions that promote conspicuous consumption.

2. Ennui. Yeah, I said it. Ennui. I think we are becoming weary of the 20th century and all the crap that came with it. I think there were thousands of really great things and people that came out of it. But, I believe that this song is holding a lens to something that has overstayed its welcome. 1 out of 10 are jobless; families are struggling in this country. Then how can young people stand around with “gold in their mouth” while 200,000 people are dying in Haiti? Why have we donated millions (that have been unused so far), sent a rapid response, and people still suffer?

I don’t have easy answers, or compose fair rhetorical questions (see the end of last paragraph). I do know that we need to take the changes that are coming and roll with them. We can succeed as a nation, as consumers, and as individuals. We need to let go of the shameless and empty pursuit of vast wealth, overnight fame, conspicuous consumption (do you REALLY need those rims?) and drug-assisted athleticism.

The sooner we can see our situation and roll with it, the faster we can get better.

I know that this is a gaming blog, so in spirit of this post, I’m including a relevant link.

I encourage educators, kids and the curious to check out Ayiti: The Cost of Life. This is a simple simulation that asks the player to help a friendly Haitian family survive and succeed in spite of poverty, sickness and violence. This can be a great learning tool for Social Science teachers who wish to immerse their students in current events.

Don’t buy gold, buy a game! Seriously. Perhaps I’ll give my reason in my next post.

-R.