I am making a vow to my readers (however few they may be) and myself.
My vow was inspired by my recent purchase of the fourth Humble Indie Bundle. Towards the end of the Bundle's availability many new products were added to the already generous lineup of games offered. Furthermore to the five games available for any donation, gamers who paid more than the average were granted two additional games as well as the privilege of downloading the complete third Bundle and the soundtracks for all twelve games. I gave ten dollars to the cause and now I have more games than I know what to do with. Here is the lineup:
Nightsky HD
Shank
Super Meat Boy
Bit.Trip Runner
Jamestown
Cave Story+
Gratuitous Space Battles
The rest are from HIB #3:
And Yet it Moves
Hammerfight
VVVVVV
Cogs
Crayon Physics Deluxe
What he said.
My vow is to write as much as I can about these games, but to stay true to my mission statement I will not merely be writing reviews of the games but I will be providing a more thorough analysis of the games and the characters therein. That might seem impossible but I love a good challenge.
While this undertaking is meant mostly for you, my readers, I am also using it to hold my own feet to the fire. I feel that I have been to slow in updating this little column of mine, and the excuse I've been telling myself is that I haven't had any good ideas. Now I have no excuses. I have at least twelve sources of inspiration and I hope to be more diligent about producing quality material. So look forward to my ramblings in the coming weeks.
I know I said that I would not write reviews on this site, yet here I am
only a few months into the blog putting one up, but I have what I believe to be
a reasonable justification for doing so. I have a civic duty to fulfill
in providing a critical review of this particular product because there
are not that many out there. A Google search for the phrase "Afterglow
AX.4 headset" will turn out several different pages of merchants trying
to sell you one, a few sites that provide basic information on the
product (such as from the manufacturer itself), and some video reviews
for the Afterglow Xbox 360 controller.
The reason I know that is that I did that exact search. The reason I did
that search is that I was considering purchasing them and I wanted to
know if they would be worth it. But the closest thing I could find to a
review was a page on gamespot.com on which users of the site had written about their own personal experiences with it.
Amateurs.
This is the kind of headset that Sam Fisher might use if he were trying not to disturb his wife in the middle of the night.
The first two things you will notice about the headset as you are
perusing the Xbox 360 headset section of your local video game boutique
are its price and its illuminative properties. Priced just slightly
under the standard, official Microsoft headset it seems attractive to
the thrifty shopper or the errand runner who was asked to pick up a new
headset for the gamer of the house. Yet somewhat more noticeable due to
its more striking package design and the fact that it lights up,
Performance Design Products has presented a double whammy of shelf
appeal to those buyers who are on the fence about the best tool to use
for trash talking other players.
However, as with most things in life, it's what is inside that counts.
The two features I was most concerned about in a headset were sound
quality (for both myself and my friends on the other end) and comfort.
As far as sound quality is concerned, they sound as good as they need
to. I did not notice a significant difference in the quality of the
earpieces between the AX.4's and the Microsoft headset, but having said
that, I should point out in the interest of full disclosure, that for
the last few months I have been running all my online communication
through my external speakers because the earpiece on my Microsoft
headset ceased to function. So to be fair, I cannot accurately recall
what it sounded like. But the AX.4's sound good enough to effectively
chat with people. In fact, the speaker in the earpiece is loud enough
that it does not need to be operated at full volume. As for what it
sounds like on the other end, I cannot personally speak to. Besides
which I would imagine that it would depend on the quality of the other
person's headset. Nevertheless, my dear friend Joe let me know that I
sounded "crystal clear" when he was hearing me. But again, I do not know
how I used to sound with my old rig, but I doubt there was much of an
improvement. But it still should be noted that the voice quality came in
as clear as it did, because I have played with other people whom I was
barely able to understand due to the fact that they were using cheaper,
lower quality hardware, so thus far, PDP has proven their worth.
Here is where there is a marked difference between the two, though. With
the Microsoft headset, there is a microphone boom that extends about
five inches or so and is flexible. The mouthpiece on the AX.4 is only
about two inches long and rigid (though it does have a pivot range of
about 225 degrees allowing it to be worn on either side). Where some might see that as an immediate
disadvantage, here are the facts: if someone has his/her microphone
directly or almost directly in front of his/her mouth, some distortion
can occur. That distortion will become amplified if that person starts
yelling in the heat of an intense session. Having the mic off to the
side of your face will increase the level of speech clarity.
Having clear and loud voice communication does not matter much if the
headset cannot be worn for an extended period of time, though. So I was
pleased with the ability of the AX.4 to remain soft and comfortable for
several hours worth of playing time. The foam on the earpiece is more substantial and noticeably softer than that of Microsoft's earpiece which is flimsy and thin, and doesn't offer enough cushioning. However, you will definitely feel the AX.4's pressing on the other side of your head as the clear plastic adjustable headpiece presses into your temple. To be fair though, I have a pretty big head so I can imagine the headpiece pressing more as it is stretched out more.
Now that we've gotten past the hard outer shell of the coconut and eaten the flesh, let's take a sip of that sweet milk.
As I mentioned before, the first thing you might notice when you see the box for the AX.4 is that it lights up. This is a purely superficial feature and is really only effective if you are in the same room as someone because you cannot see the lights while you are wearing it. And the lights themselves are simply a pair of unspectacular LEDs.
Look how awesome this guys looks with his hot AX.4's!
The AX.4 also sports the expected mute and volume controls, but this is the clearest aspect in which it fails compared to Microsoft's headset. The controls are located on the earpiece so in order to adjust the volume or mute your own speech you have to remove your hand from the controller. This is a problem for people who like to play fast paced action games, in which reflexes and accuracy are key to good performance, yet who might be having a real life conversation with a roommate or significant other in the same physical room. From what I understand, though, that is the case with even some of the more pricey alternatives out there.
All things considered, it's not a bad piece. It's not going to win any awards or blow any players away with its audio considering how far headset technology has come this generation. But for the gamer on a budget, it could be a lot worse. It easily trumps the Microsoft headset, so anyone looking to pick up a spare to go with their extra controllers for their real-life companions would be well served to part with the few bucks that it costs.
(Author's
note: The idea for this mini essay has been floating around in my head
for several months now and now that Modern Warfare 3 is upon us I have
an impetus for finally putting my thoughts into words. Be advised that
heavy spoilers are to follow.)
Torture,
killing, nuclear missile launches. It's just another day at the office
for Ghost, the enigmatic SAS operative accompanying you through much of
Modern Warfare 2's single player campaign. And although you (as the
player controlling Roach) spend a significant amount of time alongside
him, there are still many questions that arise about who Ghost is. Is he
simply a hired mercenary fighting for his next paycheck? Or is he sworn
to protect queen and country, and if so, is he fighting because he
believes what he is doing is right, or is he personally vested in the
fight against Makarov himself? And if that is the case, is there a chain
of reincarnation beginning with Call of Duty 4's Gaz moving through
Ghost and on to Modern Warfare 3's Sergeant Wallcroft (after all, they
do sound eerily similar to each other) and if so, is his stake in the
struggle weighted on the opposite side as we are meant to believe on the
surface in a grand conspiracy to bring chaos to the world and leave the
west quivering at the feet of Russia?
Is Ghost even a man or is she
wearing extra body pads and using some kind of Mission Impossible-esque
voice disguising device? It wouldn't be the first time a video game
character's identity involved some gender trickery. And goodness knows a
woman would have plenty of reasons to disguise herself as a man in the
military.
That young man fills me with hope. Plus some other emotions which are weird and deeply confusing.
Perhaps
the biggest question of all is this: am I crazy for thinking there is
more to the character of Ghost than just a badass looking son of a gun
to toss up onto the splash screen when you fire up the game? In a word,
no. I believe that Infinity Ward has deliberately crafted this character
to fit into the world of Modern Warfare.
Why
else would there exist a six-part comic mini series detailing his back
story? Why would all the creative parties behind the scenes make Ghost
such a prominent figure in the Modern Warfare mythos if he wasn't meant
to be interpreted as something more than a one dimensional, gun-toting,
living mannequin? I don't know the answer.
But here is what we do know about Ghost (based on the information given in the game):
He
is not a man to be trifled with. Before you even encounter him you have
the impression that anyone selected for Task Force 141 is a tough
cookie. By the time you meet Ghost you have already played as an Army
Ranger and someone working alongside another SAS operative, Captain
"Soap" MacTavish. People in both of these groups are highly trained
soldiers who aren't terribly nervous about violence. They are no
strangers to killing and death. So when you see someone in your group
decked out with armor and ammunition and wearing dark glasses with a
skull emblazoned across his face, you are glad that you are on the same
team as him. And then the first thing you see Ghost do is preparing to
electrically shock a man with a car battery. There is no indication of
whether he enjoys it, but we do know that took a few minutes of
interrogation before Alejandro Rojas spills the beans. At the very least
Ghost had to have inflicted some serious pain to another person. It is
evident is that Ghost is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job
done.
However,
after that point, in every combat situation you see Ghost operating
calmly and smoothly. Everybody operates calmly and smoothly--for the
most part MacTavish and other incidental squadmates have matters under
control--but the difference between Ghost and the rest of the 141 is
that whenever you see him operate, you see him as a sort of untouchable
skeleton or apparition. Either he believes that his appearance will have
a subliminal intimidation effect on his enemies, or it serves the
purpose of hiding his emotions so that he doesn't break the morale of
his squad by coming across as scared of the situation. Whether or not
those scenarios are accurate, his mask's practical function is a side
effect of the real reason he wears it. He wears the skeleton image as a
sort of tribute to those alongside whom he has fought in the past and
who died along the way. But it represents more than that. It represents
the part of him that died along the way.
To
say that the young man named Simon Riley is disturbed would be putting
it mildly. He has seen and done things that would make even the
toughest, most grizzled people in the world cringe. And knowing
everything he's been through makes it easier to understand how he
survives the grueling battles he faces through MW2's story, and it
makes you glad to know that he's on your side. Here is a man who has
grown up suffering the horrible and brutal abuse of his father, and who
has channeled the fright and anger towards him into cold and calculating
battlefield tactics. He can’t bring himself to kill his father, because
his father’s pain and suffering on his death bed is enough for Riley’s
peace of mind, yet he doesn’t bat an eye when he hears the old bastard
getting killed. Here is a man who was buried alive in the same casket as
a rotting corpse and who dug his way out of the ground using the dead
person’s lower jaw. Not to mention a litany of other terrors and
tragedies that he has witnessed. And yet, through it all, he never lets
it shake him in the performance of his duties and he never forgets that
he’s one of the good guys.
So
when he meets his ultimate fate, you feel angry about it and sad for
him that it all ended the way it did. You feel that way anyhow being
betrayed by Shepherd, but you can't help but feel an extra bit of
empathy for Ghost. After all he's been through, this is how it ends for
him? To call it unfair would be to dishonor Ghost's memory. It's unfair
when your sibling gets a bigger slice of cake. Ghost's demise is
downright faith-shattering. And later when you take the reigns as Soap
and it seems like the evil, heartless Shepherd is actually going to win,
you are finally able to exact the harsh revenge that he deserves. Most
players might feel a sense of retribution for Soap, but for others one
gets the sense that Ghost can finally rest in peace. And when you see
him in the group photo at the end (and again in the new group photo at
the end of Modern Warfare 3) it's not difficult to imagine that behind
his Balaclava and sunglasses he is allowing a smile to crack across his
face.
There is a topic which has been buzzing for a few months. The discussion is centered on the many facets of the concept of "gamification". Put simply gamification is the inclusion of elements of games in real world activities to spice up what might ordinarily be mundane or even boring. Except it isn't really. Isn't it? The confusion of the issue has kept me from forming a solid opinion on it. And my lack of an opinion has kept me from deciding whether to write about it. Until I got this email:
"Hi Calvin,
I was reading your blog today and wonder if I could get your opinion on a diet/fitness app I am working on ?
For me, I think the main problem with being healthy is motivation.
It's an abstract, overwhelming goal. I think the best way to counter
this is to turn it into winnable games and small victories.
So… my app makes living healthy, and fitness into a RPG game, where
users earn points, and "level up' as they accomplish their health goals.
Everytime they add something healthy like veggies to their diet, they
earn points. Everytime they complete a workout, they earn points. As
they achieve more and more, they'll level up and unlock badges, and
discounts/coupons to rewards like spas, health foods, etc.
There'll be challenges, which will get harder as people level up. And
it'll follow a certain structure. First will come changing your
environment such as getting rid of all junk food. Then, reducing stress,
as stress leads to eating comfort food.
The whole point is to turn it into a game so people will rely less on
willpower, and more on fun, achievement, and changing our environment.
What's your opinion on this idea? Would you want to know when I'm
done with it? If this sounds too silly, or absurd, just ignore what I
just said, hehe =)
Best, C" (I have intentionally withheld the person's name)
I'm not going to claim that this wasn't a spam email since I find it nearly impossible to believe that a total stranger would bother to read my blog, however it did get me thinking. If the task of taking on a new diet and workout regime is gamified, who is reaping the benefits? If the app costs money and enough people download it to completely offset the development costs, then the designers and developers benefit. But at what cost? If the people who buy/download the app abuse its functionality and they cheat themselves out of actually using it for its purpose, then have the people behind the scenes really helped anyone?
Consider the Nintendo 3DS. With its movement sensors, Nintendo has built pedometer capabilities into the device and added to that rewards for jogging or walking. But some users are openly reporting that they will hold the 3DS and shake it without actually doing the work in order to earn a few more virtual puzzle pieces and coins. So who benefits the most from this technology? Nintendo, who have been having trouble moving units, certainly are not being rewarded. The people who play by the rules and honestly use the functionality as it was intended are only marginally being benefited with their virtual rewards, but are theoretically seeing a high return on investment manifested in their physical health. And they would be the real winners if their victory was not overshadowed by the people who, if you'll pardon the expression, game the system. The ones who cheat are the ones who come out with the most because they have the most coins and puzzle pieces. The virtual rewards are what really matter anyway. If the improved physical health were the greater reward, then people wouldn't need the incentive that the 3DS offers. They would just do it.
Or don't. Whatever.
Even though some of the purported rewards are tangible and usable in the real world (such as earning coupons for health foods and discounts on spas) I see that as the major pitfall with the app about which I was emailed. And it is one of the major failures of the concept of gamifcation which earns it my contempt.
However, to play devil's advocate for a moment, as the father of a 4-year-old child, I have seen first hand the intended effects and positive results of gamification. As anyone who is a parent can attest, getting children to do things that aren't immediately fun is a major hassle. However, utilizing the awesome power of my magnificent brain, I developed a creature which we refer to in our family as "The Chase Monster". The Chase Monster has one goal: to capture and tickle my daughter. Whenever I need to get her to walk to some place and she refuses to do so, I threaten "calling The Chase Monster". When he is called, he is manifested in my body and will chase my daughter, herding her to where I want her to go, and if she does not get to the destination before he catches her, he attacks and there ensues a flurry of tickling and laughter. Other parents may have come up with other ways to gamify their children's chores, such as seeing how fast they can pick up their toys or awarding points for tasks completed. These are all very effective motivation techniques because they get results and I believe they help sow the seeds for strong work ethics later in life, but they are only effective for so long. When I was a pre-adolescent, my motivation for completing my chores was strictly monetary. I was given a weekly allowance for helping to clean the house and mow the lawn, but I don't think I would have been any more motivated if my parents had assigned me points for completing tasks or advanced me to a Level 2 Landscaper, because I would have known that ultimately, those intangible, imaginary rewards wouldn't have mattered if I had gained or lost them. I guess my point is that the only place for gamification in the real world is with children before they learn that they can hold their skills ransom for money.
"Meredith, call Mom and Dad and let them know that when they're ready to talk about pushing bedtime back an hour, then I'll be ready to talk about taking out the garbage."
Gamification is not a new concept, but has become a buzzword in the last few years with the increased implementation of achievement points and badges and their ubiquity thanks to platforms like Facebook and mobile gaming. There are those parties with a vested interest in making things more gamified and I can't make a solid prediction on whether the virtual rewards will become stronger or fade away into the ether out of which they are made.
My advice to C, though, is this: ditch the RPG aspect and lose the points and badges. Keep the coupons and discounts but make the person actually work for it. If the app shows that they have walked 3000 steps, but the GPS shows that they haven't actually moved, then they don't get the prize. Rather than allowing the user to forego their reliance upon their willpower, make their willpower the main motivator. Empower them to change their diets and physical activities because their rewards will be weight loss, lowered cholesterol, less risk of diabetes/heart disease, the chance to play with their children longer, and more time to spend on this mortal coil, since this is the only chance we get and we should make it count. And if people are having trouble with their own willpower, then just implement GLaDOSiri.
I need to sign off before I get too preachy and too far off topic.
The importance or unimportance of the nuances of character design
Earlier last week, Ubisoft resurrected the long dormant PR machine for their forthcoming I Am Alive. For those who might not be aware, the game has been in what seems like development hell for a few years now. I remember first reading about in the print version of Game Informer magazine in mid- to late-2008. Since then, I've been following the news and updates about it getting disappointed when it was reported to be delayed or shelved, and getting excited again when Ubi confirms, or at least hints, that it is still on its way.
In spite of the roller coaster of optimism and pessimism about the game's development, I have maintained a modest yet steady level of anticipation for its inevitable release. Not to go into too much detail about the gameplay and (somewhat ridiculous) premise, I was looking forward to what I could expect in the game. You play as an ordinary schmoe in a post-apocalyptic Chicago (gotta represent for the hometown) needing to use your wits to solve puzzles along the way and barter with various renegade elements for basic survival needs. Here is the original teaser trailer which was released about late-2009 or so:
Make a mental note of everything that stood out about that video. Keep it in mind while you watch this next video which was first revealed at Gamescom 2011 and has only been circulated to the public a few days ago:
What are the differences between those two videos? Set aside the obvious disparity between the quality of the animation rendering. Yes, the old one does not have any gameplay footage, but what else? The first thing that struck me when I saw the new trailer was that the designers had completely overhauled the look of the main character. And I didn't like it.
The old protagonist was a modern young man, not particularly handsome, making his way in the big city. He is probably slogging his way up the corporate ladder; he is obviously doing well enough to buy his daily cup of national chain coffee, and rubbing elbows with the older, bigger shots with more expensive suits. However, he carries himself with not the greatest posture or gait, and he looks like he's not very anxious to head upstairs to begin work. And when the earthquake hits, all he has to help him along the way are the clothes on his back and the briefcase slung across his shoulders. And let's face it, it's not easy to mobilize yourself for survival wearing a button-down shirt, nice slacks, and dress shoes.
The new protagonist is someone we've seen before. He has automatic free-running skills and his outfit lends itself very nicely to jumping, rolling, and climbing. He's got a nice pair of gloves to protect his hands, his clothing is loose-fitting, and his backpack is tough and rugged, designed to get a little beat up. The game lost a lot of appeal to me when I saw this new guy, because not only have I seen this before, everything that made the original character so interesting and his story so compelling is gone.
As a brief primer on the basics of character design for video games and animation, a rule of thumb is that a character should have a distinguished silhouette
Even if you can't identify all of these characters, you probably recognize them anyway. And there are no other characters in the world who look like them. The new protagonist of I Am Alive does not have a distinguished, or even an interesting silhouette. And as such, the game looks less interesting. Having said that, the old design didn't have much going for it by way of a compelling silhouette, but at least, it wasn't the kind of outfit you would expect someone in that sort of a video game situation to be wearing. It was the design of a character who was thrown into an extraordinary circumstance and had to make the best of it with his extremely limited resources. It is a huge struggle for him to make his way because not only is he ill-equipped to make it in this new world both in his dearth of equipment and his lack of skills and knowledge, he is horribly uncomfortable with every step he takes because of the clothes he happened to be wearing at the time. He is like a sailor who has been shipwrecked at sea, whereas the new protagonist is like Richard Branson trying to row across an ocean for fun.
Does that mean the the game is going to be a worse product or less interesting to play? It probably will be in some parts where the player is required to free run his/her way along some puzzlingroutes for the Nth time in a video game. Does it speak to the importance of character design? We'll see when the game finally hits and what the reviewing community and gamers have to say about it. But there is no way to know what would have happened if Ubisoft had stuck with the original character model. I have a feeling though, that the transition to the downloadable-only format is going to give gamers the impression that it is not a good enough game to have warranted a retail release. Which is a shame and a topic for another discussion, but it is indicative of the relationship between developers/publishers and gamers. Gamers are less inclined to buy a downloadable game from PSN or XBLA for any number of reasons (lower profile/less exposure, lower production qualities, or they might not consider them "real" games) and as a result the devs and pubs don't usually put their full force behind the product which feeds back into the cycle. There are, of course, various exceptions, but I've digressed far enough already.
Suffice it to say that I think games whose characters have unremarkable design features might not succeed once the final product is released, but that doesn't mean that a well designed character can save a bad or mediocre game. The best designed characters are less important to the quality of the game than they are to the success of the series.
Welcome to Game-oscopy. This is my first attempt at writing and maintaining my own blog, and my second attempt at writing for a blog at all. I should have my head examined for doing this as this is a ridiculous time in my life to take on the task of providing content for a potential audience which I might never even get in the first place. If you know me or have read my previous blog, then you know that not only do I have my own responsibilities that I, just like every other adult, have to attend to, I also have a young daughter sprouting up right before my eyes, who has just started attending school. You might think that would free up some time for some of my extra curricular activities, but furthermore to my duties at work and at home, I have also started attending school. I'm going only part time, yet it is still a significant portion of the 168 living hours I get every week.
However, I still have all of this stuff and all of these opinions inside my brain begging to be let out and put into words on the web. Hence the formation of this blog. I have been meaning to start this for quite a few months now and am finally getting to it after hyping it to some of my friends and being pressured into it by others. And with it I have a few objectives:
I have been a gamer since about first grade to the disappointment of my parents. I was brought up in a household that not only dismissed video games as a childish waste of time, but resented them as evil brain melters with no value to them in any aspect. When I was a freshman in high school I decided to make a plea to my parents to finally allow a video game system in the house. I outlined a list of ten arguments for my case and after some deliberation I was granted permission to bring my own Nintendo 64 into the house. Yet it was never fully accepted as a viable form of entertainment in our home and to this day my father asserts that it was a mistake to transform our house into a gamer's house. So this blog is an attempt to legitimize the medium of video games as something more than just a hobby or a pastime. There is some value to the mindless catharsis that some video games offer when you've had a stressful day and you want to blow off some steam by crashing cars or shooting zombies, but I support the notion that video games warrant careful scrutiny from certain viewpoints similarly to fine cinema or literature.
My second objective serves as the counterpart to my first objective. Hopefully by legitimizing my favorite entertainment medium to naysayers, I might inspire someone who has never-or almost never-picked up a controller and put serious time into playing a game to do so. I've heard it said on some of the outlets of video game news and opinion to which I subscribe that Angry Birds is now considered to be the "gateway game" for many people who never considered themselves gamers before. I disagree with the notion that Angry Birds or Cut the Rope (or any other enormously popular, easily accessible game) can turn a non-gamer into a gamer. No one who is not a gamer, in my opinion, is likely to move over to playing Half Life 2 after becoming engrossed in Fruit Ninja or Rock Band. The casual gamer* will more than likely be overwhelmed by some of the deeper, more rich experiences found in gaming's vast catalog. This is a discussion for another blog entry, but to put it simply, I would like to share my experiences in games with those who might otherwise be put off or even frightened of trying something with some depth to it.
I have to admit a purely selfish motivation behind my third objective. I would like this blog to serve as a companion to a podcast I intend on releasing. I used to do a podcast with my dear friend Joe Locastro and I loved every second of it. I have always wanted to fantasize that I was a talk radio personality and podcasting was the perfect outlet for me. I miss it a lot and I know Joe does as well. And most of the deepest, most stimulating conversations I've had about games have been with Joe. I want to resuscitate the dynamic duo that we had and bring our particular brand of intellectualism back to the Internet airwaves. My other reasoning behind the podcast is to fill a void that I have observed in the video game podcasting community. Most of the gaming podcasts I have found talk about current and upcoming games from the perspective of players who are anxious and anticipatory of ones they are interested in playing. I have to give respect to Michael Abbott of Brainy Gamer for filling this void somewhat (in fact when I was brainstorming ideas for the name of this blog "Brainy Gamer" was one of my ideas. I found out that it was already taken.) for though he primarily focuses on current, recent, or upcoming games, he does an excellent job of analyzing them on deeper levels than "I really like it," or "I'm really looking forward to it." In planning this undertaking I was also planning on calling out Gary Whitta, Kris Graft, and Colin Campbell of the formerly former Game Theory podcast as a team that had also partially filled the intellectual game discussion void but Game Theory has returned.
I am somewhat conflicted about my fourth objective which dovetails into my fifth objective. I want to steer this blog away from doing reviews for a few reasons. Primarily because it's pointless. Not only will I not be able to influence anyone's decision whether or not to buy a game, but I will not be able compete with the entrenched review outlets for readership. Why would anyone come to read my review of a game when there are already dozens of reviews out there by more famous game critics which might say the same thing as my review anyway? Another reason I don't want to be known as a review site is that I have personal objectives to the concept of video game reviewing in the first place. Most things that people write and call reviews for video games are actually just essays detailing their personal opinions about the individual games and the genres into which they are classified. Not to belabor this notion but the whole business of reviewing video games is fundamentally broken.
Having said that, however, it would be nice if enough people noticed my writings and opinions here that I might be able to recoup some of the time I've spent putting this blog together monetarily or even to earn a position as a regular writer for a proper video game journalism site. It has always been an ambition of mine to write about video games since, as mentioned before, I have many opinions about the games and things that other bloggers/writers say about them and I almost always have something to say in response. So my fifth objective is to use this blog as a platform for a)getting my opinions out there, and b)building a portfolio of material that I can use as a sort of resume if I ever apply to a site looking for new writers. And in the interest of full disclosure, a new feature of blogger.com is to include a link to Amazon.com for any product being written about. I plan on utilizing this feature and would hope that my readers would use those links to buy the games about which I write if they find themselves intrigued by what I say.
So that's that. I hope you enjoy this blog. More than hoping for a large reader base, I hope that I am able to stimulate people's minds and inspire thoughtful conversation.
