Understanding Scott McCloud - July 10, 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. Is it true that some places
don't get above 100 in the summer? Don't say we didn't warn you.
I had intended to go on a rant about how incredibly cool Scott McCloud's new work, Reinventing
Comics, is, but unfortunately I couldn't get a copy this weekend. Every store I
talked to had conflicting opinions on the subject, some saying it'd be out in August, some
saying it had sold out already. Either way it's irritating when early reviews are already
praising the book.
On the other hand, this gives me the opportunity to talk about McCloud's first major
book, Understanding Comics, which is a must read for pretty much anyone
interested in modern media. You don't have to listen to Steve Earle, you don't have to
believe me when I say Bruce Sterling's the coolest sf writer alive, you don't even have to
think Square is the best game maker on the planet, but there can be no argument that
McCloud's nailed his subject in a way few have before or since.
McCloud talks about how differing levels of abstraction pass on differing levels of
personal identification to the reader, the various visual syntax tricks a graphic artist
uses to command and direct the reader's attention, and even gets a certain amount of
abstract art theory in, with more besides. It's not so much that any of the ideas are new,
but rather how well and easily and smoothly McCloud communicates them. However, the
interesting thing about UC is less how it relates to comics (although reading
this book will add a whole new dimension to any comic you read, from Peanuts to Watchmen
to Akira) and more how it enhances your understanding of nearly all hybrid media, from
comics to film to video games. See if you don't get a better idea of what Miyamoto or
Kojima goes through in balancing gameplay, plot and graphics against each other after
reading UC, and see if you're not as desperate to read McCloud's new book once
you're done.
Onward.
| Everything gets old after a while |
| Hey homey When is Gameboy going to get old? I've been playing Neo Geo
Pocket for awhile, and now everything on GB seems like what it is, either a crappy version
of an N64 game, or a licensed platformer based on a fading or dead franchise (with a few
exceptions like NES ports, and MGS). So how come the superior system with better games by
a more reliable company and the same price tag is already dead? I think someone said
"brand loyalty", but then how did Playstation succed over Saturn and N64? I
don't think marketing alone could produce such a powerful win.
Gilbert
P.S. Am I the only one that notices that Ninja Gaiden and Strider are basically the
same thing?
P.S.2, Remember the old Ninja Turtle beat'em'up games? Those were cool. |
You've damn near answered your own question. Brand loyalty is a strong thing in any
arena - the N64's survived as long as it has in part because of a loyal cadre of
followers, and the SNES certainly got a boost during its rocky beginning thanks to those
eager to relive the glory days of the NES. But home consoles are a much more involved play
experience than portables. Giants like Tetris and Pokemon aside, I think most people find
one portable game (or game system) is the same as another, so why not go with what you
know, you know?
The NES version of Strider was nothing much, but the Genesis version of Strider was an
excellent game, and didn't feel much like Ninja Gaiden aside from the fact that they were
both action platformers. And the TMNT games weren't bad, but I preferred The
Simpsons.
| Tastes differ. What more do you want? |
| How can opinions be so radically varied throughout the gaming community?
Is this a quality title, or crap? Recently, thegia reviewed LoD, which garnered a
"1"; however, videogamers.com reviewed the same title, which garnered an
"A." The reviewer made comments like "It's much better than Final Fantasy
8," and rambled on and on about how it was almost better than Final Fantasy 7.What's
the controversey? Why can I not receive a straight answer? I want your opinion, yea or
nay? Lord of Darkness |
I haven't played LoD, so I can't say much about it other than what I've heard. But what
I have heard, from a wide variety of sources, is that it's a relatively generic game with
a mediocre plot, bad writing, but great graphics and a nostalgic feel. For me it's a nay,
but I can understand others feeling differently.
And that's probably the reason reviews have been so varied on the game. I suspect the
GIA's reviewers tend to look more toward what's new and innovative and progressive in a
game (although all of that can go take a flying leap if a game's fun), whereas other sites
look more toward what they traditionally expect from an RPG, that is, what they've seen in
the past. Again, I have my personal preferences in what I look for in a game, but I'm not
going to knock anyone else for what they want.
| The Legend of Terada |
| In response to Genji's question about Mr. Terada and why his name appears
in the FF credits, he is a very prolific anime screenwriter and game scenario writer who,
in addition to being in charge of the scripts for Final Fantasies I, II and III, has
worked on Kimagure Orange Road, Ushio & Tora, Ping-Pong Club (yes, really), and many
other anime series, and is currently the scenario writer for Namco's upcoming RPG Khamrai.
The reason Nasir, Mr. Amano and Mr. Terada are the only individual names to appear is that
they all worked as independent contractors and weren't actually employees by Square,
whereas Mr. Sakaguchi and co. were employees so they got absorbed into the "Square
A-Team" collective. Back then cartridge memory was precious and not to be wasted on
frills like complete staff listings. |
Not a lot more to say, but thanks for the info.
| It's all about the escapism, baby *possible
FF9 spoilers* |
| Chris, I think I finally figured out why I could never really get into
FFVIII so well, and why I like FFIX. Battle systems, and SD graphics, and all that aside,
it really comes down to the "escapism" factor.
Take Squall for example. The guy is just not cool enough. Hell, I could beat him in a
coolness contest. What's the point of fantastic escapisim if you're going to escape to a
story about a teenager with social problems. I already WENT through that thank you very
much, I have no interest in revisiting highschool in the form of a video game character.
Another problem that I have with FFVIII that get's nicely fixed in FFIX is the pace.
FFVIII's story, while not horrible at all, takes a bloody age to get off the ground, and
the insane hopping around between the Rinoa/Squall just set my teeth on edge. In the end,
I never could quite get to finishing the game. (Tell's you how irritating it got). The
game needs to set a certain mood which affects the rest of the gameplay. It needs to put
you into a kind of half trance, where you're imagination runs wild about the places you
see, and people you talk to, and a story that takes that long to go anywhere just fails
miserably at creating that atmosphere.
FFIX on the other hand, grabbed me in the first 2 minutes, (and I adamantly refused to
read any reviews or read any info about it, to ensure unsullied gamepaly) and it still has
me up at 7am still playing (with kanji dictionary in hand mind you, thanks to stieners
wonderful archaic japanese), in spite of the fact that I have Stats in only an hour.
Crap... just a few more minutes.
Well, that's what I have to say for now, I just saved my game. Let's see if I can get
my homework done in time for first period...
Drakonian |
Again, not a lot to say. Haven't played the game myself, haven't even asked much of GIA
members who have. I loved FF8, but if FF9 represents a change of pace, that's great too.
| Something new under the sun |
| "What ever happened to the creativity? I remember when new generes
were appearing overnight. Well, not overnight, but it at least it happened. Where has the
creativity gone? Is every company so devoid of ideas that endless fighter clones must be
made?" Actually since the PSX has come new genres (or subgenres) have appeared on
consoles. There's the horror genre RE made famous, the genre that Twisted Metal spawned
and also Driver can be considered to have started a new subgenre or genre too. Even with
fighters new things have popped up like tag team fighting that Capcom thought up. Remember
I'm just talking in terms of consoles here (except the tag team thing). It is possible
that these genres and subgenres I mentioned appeared in computer games or something else
first. You (Chris) pretty much took care of the RPG aspect of the guy's complaint.
Pendy
Maintainer of the Dragon Quest Dragon Warrior News Network |
Now that you mention it, I'm not sure there's been any other system that's produced as
many new genres as the PSX. I believe PaRappa was credited with inventing the rhythm genre
to boot.
| Kids, their parents, and Vagrant Story |
| OK, just to clarify: The man was shopping for his son. The kid was
somewhere in the 12-14 range. My guess would be 13, being the average and all. Believe me,
I wouldn't have handed him something that the kid would not have understood. Plus the kid
knew what Final Fantasy was (you'd be surprised), so he had some RPG experience. Believe
you me, I wouldn't give anyone anything that I thought would go over their heads. Jon |
13 doesn't sound too young to handle Vagrant Story - it's rated Teen, and if you can't
trust the ESRB, who can you trust?
Seriously, it does become more difficult for me to recommend games to kids as I get
older. On the one hand, I know as a kid I'd have loved stuff like VS, and don't think it
would have done me any harm. On the other hand, I'm starting to see things from the
parents' point of view too. I still don't think most console games are really harmful to
kids, but I can't in good conscience recommend a Teen game to someone under 10, and can't
recommend a hard M game (something like Fear Effect, but less the case with Parasite Eve)
to someone much under 18. Getting too cautious in my old age.
| Some things never change |
| Hey AK I was thinking about what Gilbert said yesterday. When you
think about it, games like Pac-Man and Ninja Gaiden are pretty much all the same thing at
their roots. If you simplify those games you end up with one basic concept. Circle has to
pass over yellow squares, when circle passes over yellow square yellow square turns black.
There are lines here and there that are used as corridors and also red rectangles that are
running after you. If you catch a blue triangle you go faster and can eliminate a few red
rectangles.
Now all you need to do is change those names and give them a better look, like some
yellow circle-thing. The same goes for Ninja-Gaiden, except that they added some sort of
story into it. What I'm saying is that one of the reason a lot of people can still enjoy
those games is simply because they are no different than games like checkmates. One of the
only games I've bought that I still play is Final Fantasy Tactic simply because it really
is more of a game that a mix between a movie and videogames (not that it's a bad thing).
You could hack a Mega-Man game and replace everything by geometrical shapes and colors and
you'd get a game that is extremely simillar to almost any others if you made them go
through the same process. Anyway, there's plenty of place for all types of games:)
-Phil |
Certain games undoubtedly possess gameplay that won't go out of style anytime in the
coming millennium, I can't argue about that. I suspect Tetris will be played when the sun
grows dim and Venus starts to cool. But at the same time, I can't think that games won't
evolve, in more ways than just graphics. River City Ransom is a great game, no question,
but there's no reason why someone couldn't take the basic gameplay ideas and make it
better. Ditto nearly any classic you can name - anything from Bionic Commando to PaRappa.
You're free to disagree if you like, of course, but I think the tide of progress is on my
side here.
Closing Comments:
Sorry for the short column, but some stuff came up tonight that I wish hadn't. Not a
hell of a lot that can be done about it, tho.
For a topic, let's hear what your thoughts are on the early FF9 impressions, and how
you think it's shaping up vs. Dragon Quest 7. Later.
-Chris Jones, heartsick |
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