The day after The Day After - July 6, 2000 - Chris Jones
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of
the participants and the moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the GIA. There
is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. America fall down, go boom.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
"The Day After" was on TV last night, and it got me all nostalgic for the
Cold War. Things just aren't as interesting without the threat of immanent death from
above, and the looming specter of evil totalitarian commies on the horizon.
At the same time, I was a bit disappointed with the film. While I'm no fan of nukes,
the movie seemed overly pathetic and manipulative. People didn't much seem to care if they
lived or died, and accepted radiation poisoning the same way I might accept missing The
Simpsons. There was relatively little concern over winning the war, and a sense of doom
despite the fact that there was still some semblance of social order, food, and medical
care.
And the ironic thing is, they weren't pessimistic enough. There was a short disclaimer
at the end saying the effects of a nuclear war were exaggerated for dramatic effect, but
I'm pretty sure they were wrong - anywhere that suffered that much physical damage should
have been radioactive enough to kill anyone not wiped out by the blast. I suppose that's a
comforting thought.
Perhaps the problem is that the film wasn't sufficiently Republican. I might enjoy
"Red Dawn" instead this weekend, if I could forget it's one of the dumbest
movies ever made. Or perhaps I'll just forget all about the 80's and enjoy some of the
brilliant media this decade's produced, even if we can't figure out what the hell it's
called. (The Zeros? The Zips? The Oughts? What?)
Onward.
| It's what happens during the boring parts |
| Chris, I think gameplay deals with how much fun the more mundane parts
of an rpg are. This would be things like the battle system, moving around the world, etc.
Is every random battle just in the way of advancing the plot, or is it a fun part of the
game? Are the towns fun to explore, or do you just go looking for the one character that
will make the story go on and not bother talking to anyone else? It's hard to describe
what gives a game these qualities. Some games I can sit and happily gain xp in one spot
for hours, and others I gesture rudely at the tv every time a random battle appears. And
did anyone really want to explore Esthar? Or most of the other huge towns in FF8? I think
a game with good gameplay can get past bad music, graphics, and even plot because it makes
the 95% of the game that isn't spent in plot developments much more fun to play.
Ann |
I'm intrigued by one point you make - that the same gameplay can be seen as fun or
boring depending on when it occurs. There are times when exploration seems welcome (when
you arrive in town and are told to wander around until some event happens) and times when
it seems irritating (when you're told to explore a large dungeon for a single item, and
can't advance the plot until you do). You'd think it'd be simple to tell when exploration
and random battles are called for and when they're not, but a pressing plot point for one
person might be the low point of the game for someone else. The only surefire way to make
gameplay interesting might be to make the most prevalent aspect (battles) really
interesting but even opinions on battle systems change from person to person.
| Mission accepted |
| You pose an interesting challenge, which I'm afraid I'm going to have to
accept. Gameplay is how we classify games. That's why we have RPGs and action games and
what else.
But since we talk mostly about RPGs in the DA column, I think of RPG gameplay to be the
simple nuts and bolts rules of the game. How the teams line up in battle, what you can do,
how you get stronger, etc. This isn't to be confused with interface, which talks about how
easy it is to use menus and walk around and such. For example, FF7 had a bad interface, at
least on the map, because it was often difficult to tell where you were going without the
little hand to guide you.
Sometimes there's one aspect of the gameplay which is most important and defines the
whole gameplay system for us. FF7's materia system, FF1's traditional level and
magic-buying system, and the job system. Sometimes there are many aspects which define the
whole gameplay system, such as Vagrant Story, which has a weapon combining system, a
unique magic system, and other things. Gameplay need not always refer to how fighting is
done; the gameplay system could refer to randomly generated dungeons, a unique way of
meeting enemies on the map, as Earthbound and Chrono Trigger have, or puzzles, such as
Wild ARMs's or Vagrant Story's puzzles. How do we judge gameplay? That's tough, especially
since so many people disagree. I'm a happy camper if the gameplay system is unique,
interesting (which means I can enjoy spending time outside of battle exploring my options)
and intuitive--I can figure it out. When FF8 came out, I added non-anal-retentive to my
list, because like many people, I got a little peeved having to reassign GFs and junctions
whenever I switched party members.
Now for my challenge to you, Mr. Jones. You use the word "the" a lot, so
define it for me.
- Pepper 2000 |
The is a word that acts as a pointer to whatever THE hell I'm talking about at THE
time. Is that an acceptable definition?
I mostly agree with you here, except that I think interface has to be part of the
definition. FF8, Thousand Arms, and Vagrant Story all have the same basic fight command,
but how this command is accessed, and consequently how it feels, differs from game to
game. Some of the earliest complaints about FF7 involved the button layout not being
exactly the same as people remembered, which soured some on the gameplay.
You're also right that one element of gameplay can often dominate, by choice or by
design. Certainly the Junction system's one of the more memorable gameplay elements in
history, if not exactly in the way Square wanted it to be.
| It's like it's going around and around and
around... |
| This is a pretty straightforward question, but, have you heard if FFIX
supports Dolby Surround? (Not to be confused with the superior Dolby Digital, which is a
hardware thing.) The answer is most assuredly a 'yes', FFVIII did support it, but I
haven't heard one thing about it. Most people don't care about that sort of thing (I
do, however), but isn't that just the kind of semi-useless feature that Square would be
touting in their press releases? God, I hope they included it. And god, yes I am a nerd.
If you, the oh-so lovable Chris Jones, don't know the answer, post this message anyway.
The next day you'll have 75 audiophiles and their dogs telling you the answer. Thanks.
~Alex M. |
I'm pretty sure it does, since Square already learned Surround in 8 and wouldn't not use a technical skill once mastered. But I can't confirm just yet, though further inquires are proceeding apace, fear not.
| Drew on Quistis, but not Quistis on Drew |
| Chris, Indeed, lewsteran's Quistis comment was taken word for word
from the one and only Drew Cosner.
And it was one-hundred percent right, too. Quistis was just there to be the hot blonde
chick. As for the other characters (you didn't think you were gonna get away without me
climbing up on my soapbox, did you?), Rinoa was very confident, till we watched her
confidence shatter when she realised she wasn't cut out to lead (the parallels with
Barrett are amazing). Zell was a punk kid who slowly grew up and turned into a mature,
intelligent leader in his own right. Irvine was convinced he was the ladies man (but
unlike Edgar, he really was). However, his confidence in his shooting was somewhat less,
until Squall convinced him to prove himself. Selphie seems a complete ditz, but we slowly
find out she has vast amounts of smarts and inner strength. Seifer let his romantic dream
and rivalry with Squall rule him, but in the end turned out to be a decent, albeit deluded
guy. And Squall? Well, he's already been touched on numerous times in numerous forums. My
point is that, in terms of character development, while it ain't the Belgariad, FF 8
contains quite a bit.
And that's all I have to say about that.
~Krelian |
I still don't agree with the comment regarding Quistis, since I felt the small amount
of character exposition we did get with her was more than enough - it was very
concentrated, but still came out to more than many FF4 or 6 characters got. On the other
hand, I think we can all agree that Quistis performed her role as "the hot blonde
chick" quite admirably.
The rest of your points about character development were well made, but I have to leave
now, my bus is here.
| Unbalanced |
| The most important element of gameplay for me is balance. Balance is not
something you notice at first, but it is the element that is most likely to cause me to
quit playing a game before I finish it. Some games start off fine, but quickly become full
of only 2 types of fights: (1) annoying random battles with monsters that are no longer a
challenge, one hit with any weapon doing 10x the damage needed to kill them (and little
$/exp)(the kind where you just mash the "X" button a bunch of times and wish
there were no battle animations), and (2) outrageously difficult battles that last an
hour, with you dying many times until you finally cheat and read a walkthrough and find
the "boss" can only be killed with a certain sword/spell/other contrivance. It
is kind of like a "Super Mario Bros" type of RPG gameplay. Butt-bounce 100
enemys that die instantly when you land on them, followed by one large "Boss"
with one certain way to kill him, and then on to the next level. Fine for 2D side
scrollers, lame for a RPG.
The District Attorney |
I hadn't thought of this, but you're dead on. Relatively few RPGs have a category
between boss and random enemy, as compared to action RPGs which have old bosses coming
back as minibosses or even regular enemies in later levels. It's one of the reasons I
liked Vagrant Story as much as I did, because the Dark elemental that took you half an
hour to beat the first time would show up as a room guard later on, and it felt just fine
to take him out with a single chain combo.
It's also something I'd like to see more of in regular RPGs, since there's a definite
correlation between how involved a fight gets and how interesting it is. A game consisting
of nothing but tough boss battles spiced with a few regular fights here and there could be
interesting, which is why I'm so intrigued by Chrono Cross.
| Local residents only |
| I suppose that there isn't anything particularly wrong with the Arboretum
Software, Etc (other than their apparent lack of respect for street dates), but one can
find stores more or less exactly like it anywhere in the country. In Austin, you've got
the option of shopping at GameFellas, which has a better selection of both new and used
games (and imports, if it matters to you), a staff that's generally more-informed, and
prices that are usually competitive. So what's the deal, Chris? Do you have a beef with
GameFellas, or do you just really want that Square backpack? -Anson |
On the contrary, I think Gamefellas is great. I picked up my copy of Ogre Battle PSX
there, and I ask for Panzer Dragoon Saga every time I stop by to browse. (Someday...) If
you're in Austin, I recommend them highly for nearly all of your gaming needs, including
soundtracks and imports. Beware their reliance on Son May OSTs though.
The reason I preordered my Square games from Software Etc. and buy most of my games
from stores other than Gamefellas is twofold. First off, the Gamefellas nearest to me is a
20 minute drive out of my way home, whereas SE's a one minute detour. When I just want to
pick up a game and play it, SE's the clear winner. Second, Gamefellas told me on three
separate occasions that they didn't know anything about the preorder process, which I
believe may have been limited to the big chains. But preorders aside, Gamefellas is good
people, no question.
| Uematsu speaks |
| Hi, Chris! I know I arrived a little late to the discussion, but maybe
you'll find this interesting...
Instead of giving each character his/her spotlight in Final Fantasy 8, Square focused
in only two of them...
This was no accident or lack of design. It was a decision that the guys at Square took.
For example, in the notes included in the FF8 OST there's an interview with Uematsu, and
when asked why there are no character themes in the OST he replies:
I found that the effect of character themes weren't as great as I thought in FF 6
and 7. It is reasonable to have character themes if each of the main characters have their
own highlights in the game, but in FF8, the "main character" is focused in a
single couple of Squall and Rinoa.
Uematsu explains that he first reads the screenplay before writing the music, so the
decision to focus on Squall and Rinoa came with the screenplay itself, which is where the
game was built around.
You can read the full interview at the Musical World of Final Fantasy here.
Cheers!
- Carlos Rodriguez |
I saw that interview in my copy of the soundtrack, but it would never have occurred to
me to look around for a translation. Interesting stuff.
There's always gonna be arguments over FF8's characterization, and if concentrating on
a few characters rather than giving everyone their own little drama was the right way to
go. But it's nice to finally confirm that Quistis not having her moment in the spotlight
was a deliberate decision rather than an accidental oversight.
| Hey, it's not my fault what people do with
it... |
| This isn't really for the letters column, but I'm mailing you because
you're the guy whose job is to get mail. Lucky you. I like the fact that you (you the
GIA, not you you) didn't post pirated FF9 stuff, but I find the fact that you linked tothe
sites that did a bit questionable. Firstly it comes off as a bit of a snipe at those
sites, even if it wasn't intended as such. Secondly...well, isn't it sort of like a
newsmagazine saying "We don't condone the sale of illegal drugs, but interested
parties can purchase them from this address.". |
It is my job to get mail, but like the disclaimer says, I don't speak for the site.
However, I thought your comment was worth tacking on to the end of the column. I also
like the fact that we didn't post pirated media, but I think the decision to link to the
sites that did was legitimate. (Not that I have any input into such decisions.)
Yeah, we provided links for those who might have wanted to see the media, because
people are gonna be interested. Heck, I might have downloaded some myself, before I took
over this column. (Now too many people would give me too much crap if I did, and, as much
as it surprises me, I'm something of a role model. This job has a dark side too, folks.)
But naming people who sell drugs or carry pirated material is something of a double edged
sword - you're telling people where they can get contraband, but you're also informing the
relevant authorities whose ass to nail to the wall. Since we simply provide info about the
media, our ethical status seems satisfactory.
Closing Comments:
Free topic day tomorrow, and I may even have enough time to play a bit of Koudelka.
Based on my impressions, I'll concentrate on that or SoM this weekend. Have a good one.
-Chris Jones, always wanted to live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, so he moved to
Texas |
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