tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/games-criticism-9494/articlesGames criticism – The Conversation2015-03-12T06:15:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/378182015-03-12T06:15:21Z2015-03-12T06:15:21ZThe best video games need not imitate films to be worth a Bafta<p>With the spectacle delivered by increasingly photo-realistic video games with budgets running into tens of millions of pounds on a par with that of the film industry, it seems only right that video games should be offered awards by the same organisation, <a href="http://www.bafta.org/games">the Baftas</a>.</p>
<p>On the list of nominees for the British Academy Games Awards this year are many “AAA” titles such as <a href="https://www.shadowofmordor.com/">Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor</a>, <a href="http://www.alienisolation.com/age-gate">Alien: Isolation</a> and <a href="http://far-cry.ubi.com/en-gb/home/index.aspx">Far Cry 4</a>, each demonstrating extraordinarily realistic visual representation involving soundscapes and inspiring technical ambition. These are massive, detailed open worlds to explore, with expansive multi-player options.</p>
<h2>Not so novel</h2>
<p>Yet there is much that is familiar in these nominations. Franchises such as <a href="https://www.easports.com/uk/fifa">FIFA</a> football, the <a href="https://www.callofduty.com/uk/en/">Call of Duty</a> first-person shooter and the <a href="http://www.forzamotorsport.net/en-us/">Forza</a> racer are commercial goldmines that are revisited annually to generate predictable profits. But this discourages risk-taking. Each new iteration of an established title is often little more than a re-skin, a buff-and-polish. This is as much to do with audience expectations of the game they’re getting as it is testament to the development costs required to exploit the technical power of the latest consoles.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74486/original/image-20150311-24191-10ra9c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Atmosphere? Alien: Isolation has it in spades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Creative Assembly</span></span>
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<p>Of course such valuable pieces of intellectual property require a safe pair of hands. Game developer studios can’t afford for an instalment to fail, and this commercial need encourages a very conservative approach. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the industry, as the profits from established titles can be reinvested in developing new ideas. For example Bungie, the studio behind the hugely successful <a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-gb">Halo series</a>, also created <a href="http://www.destinythegame.com/uk/en">Destiny</a>, which expands a typical first-person shooter into a multi-player online game with role-playing elements in an immersive, persistent game universe.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74488/original/image-20150311-24194-1ba6gqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Far Cry 4: good, but more-of-the-same good.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ubisoft</span></span>
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<p>Yet despite the technical accomplishment of next-gen games such as Destiny and the mechwarrior-style <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/uk">Titanfall</a>, many players look for novelty and a different type of challenge. Some games nominated for an award represent very traditional concepts of play. For example, incarnations of classics such as Nintendo’s ever-popular <a href="http://www.mariokart.com/wii/launch/">Mario Kart</a> (now up to the eighth instalment), and a simplified version of the retro-themed <a href="http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Console_Edition">Minecraft</a> for games consoles illustrate the enduring appeal of old school game mechanics and characters over games that sell themselves on photo-realistic environments.</p>
<p>Still, as in the world of film, it often seems that once again we’ve been seduced by the polish of sequels and derivatives rather than risky new ideas.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74480/original/image-20150311-24212-1v8g97q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Minecraft’s retro appeal has found stella success.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AdultsOnlyMinecraft</span></span>
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<h2>Indie invasion</h2>
<p>So I’m pleased to see much smaller games from indie developers among the shortlist. The explosion of computing power in our pocket via mobile phones and tablets has prompted a new wave of creativity throughout the game industry. With far lower costs to develop games for mobile platforms, the opportunity is there for smaller studios and independent developers (often individuals) to enter the market with interesting, unusual, or downright idiosyncratic games. Big budget games may be technically impressive with their realistic physics engines and lighting, but it’s often the smaller studios with tiny budgets that deliver real innovation.</p>
<p>Some of the nominations this year challenge the orthodoxy in a beautiful way. <a href="http://www.stateofplaygames.com/work/lumino-city/">Lumino City</a> by Camberwell-based State of Play is a great example of a novel approach to graphic style. The painstaking effort to cut and construct a paper-based set provides a truly refreshing environment. It reminds us of the simple pleasures of classroom craft but enhanced in ways we could only dream of as children.</p>
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<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/97832046" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Nominated in four categories, Inkle’s adventure game <a href="http://www.frogwares.com/game/80days.html">80 Days</a> has been lauded for its elegant storytelling and rich interactive narrative. The game isn’t ashamed of its pedestrian pace, using it as a device to enhance the unravelling of the story. </p>
<p>Compelling gameplay doesn’t have to mean breakneck speed and bullet-dodging action; nor, as the regular use of self-deprecating humour in 80 Days demonstrates, do contemporary games need to take themselves so seriously. </p>
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<span class="caption">Oliver’s journey in 80 Days involves some unlikely characters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Frogwares</span></span>
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<p>The intricacies of the game’s plot – to travel round the world in 80 days, like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048960/">Phileas Fogg</a> – creates a world that can be explored repeatedly not just to improve on a score, but in order to continue discovering new elements missed on previous run-throughs.</p>
<p>The 25% industry tax breaks for games with a British “cultural value”, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/27/ed-approves-tax-breaks-video-games-industry">finally awarded last year</a> after a seven year legal battle, should encourage more newcomers to the games industry. And as mobile platforms spread more widely, we will hopefully see fewer blockbuster sequels in the future and more small but perfectly formed sensations like Lumino City and 80 days.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether the games enjoy a large or small budget, the Games Baftas should serve to remind us of the enormous versatility, skills and innovation within Britain’s creative industries. Each year UK talent produces some of the world’s most successful video games, which contributes billions to the economy. The British video games industry is a homegrown success story dating back to the 1980s, but which is continually enriched by the range of excellent design and development courses at UK universities today – long may it contiune.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carlton Reeve does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Awards ceremonies need to celebrate the small and beautiful, not just the big and bold.Carlton Reeve, Senior Lecturer in Creative Technology, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/271732014-05-27T04:59:43Z2014-05-27T04:59:43ZBig games are often light on themes<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49505/original/npdmqkyf-1401165279.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Hitler’s mech as it appears in the original Wolfenstein game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Id Software</span></span>
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<p>Recently, I’ve found myself reacting quite strongly against games I haven’t played yet. Occasionally, to games that haven’t even been released yet. I’ve found myself immediately sceptical and hostile when a game’s marketing tells me that it has something to say “about” some serious theme or social commentary.</p>
<p>I’ve found myself immediately assuming that the game is not, in fact, going to say anything interesting about that topic at all. It’s an odd feeling, a pre-emptive hostility that I certainly didn’t used to feel towards games. </p>
<p>Last week, when Ubisoft released the cover art of their upcoming Far Cry 4 — a game we are yet to see any footage of — I echoed the many on Twitter who pointed out how <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-05-19-far-cry-4-already-playing-with-fire">the cover is clearly racist</a>. There’s the man that many have perceived as Caucasian sitting on a throne, a cowering Asian man on his knees before him in an amazing literalisation of colonialism. </p>
<p>Some have defended the cover, at least insisting that we wait until we play “the game itself” before we start criticising. But as others still have pointed out, Ubisoft have deliberately released this cover to be consumed as a marketing text in its own right, and considering the series’ previous game’s <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/04/what-i-loathe-about-far-cry-3/">own poor treatment of colonial and racist undertones</a>, it was inevitable that such criticisms would be made. </p>
<p>Also last week, the new Wolfenstein game came out. When Id created the first Wolfenstein game in the early 90s, they established many of the conventions that still exist today in the first-person shooter genre. Now, like many older IPs, Wolfenstein demands a new, rebooted franchise every few years — just like Superman or Batman. </p>
<p>This time, developers MachineGames decided to take the alternate history route, asking what the 1960s would be like if the Nazi’s won world war two. There is a scene in the game where the player <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/20/5732556/wolfenstein-concentration-camp-video">has to infiltrate a concentration camp</a>. Now, again, I have not played Wolfenstein yet, but when I heard that this scene existed, I immediately balked at the idea of a blockbuster first-person shooter even considering depicting the horrors of a concentration camp.</p>
<p>It was a gut reaction that I’m interested in understanding. Obviously, as a game critic, I think videogames are no less able to tackle difficult or challenging topics than any other medium: if films and literature can say something meaningful about concentration camps, then surely videogames can, too? At the very least, at the risk of invoking Godwin’s Law, its been over a decade since <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/16/5717520/escape-from-woomera-immigration-australia">several Australian developers created Escape From Woomera</a>, highlighting the plight of refugees detained in Australia’s own interment camps, so surely it is possible to present Nazi concentration camps in a meaningful manner?</p>
<p>The obvious answer is “yes”. But why do I not trust Wolfenstein to be that game? It’s not because of a distaste for commercial first-person shooters, a genre that I voluntarily spend a lot of time playing. Maybe it is because it is a franchise that, in its first iteration, had a boss fight against Hitler riding around in a giant, Gatling gun-equipped mech that, when it blew up, showed a slow-motion replay of it blowing up a second time. </p>
<p>Maybe I just have little faith that a game where the main mechanical vocabulary is pulling the right trigger to fire a gun at someone’s head will be able to say something about the horrors of the Holocaust. Just like I wouldn’t expect Burnout, a game about spectacular crashes while street racing, to have something meaningful to say about the horrible consequences of speeding.</p>
<p>Is it that I don’t think blockbuster “triple-a” games are capable of big, mature themes? I am okay with an indie or “arty” games trying to tackle grim topics but if it is a blockbuster titles whose primary goal is to return a profit for its publishers, do I think it is too “tainted” to say much of anything? That seems like a problematic distinction, perpetuating a “high” and “low” brow divide across arty and popular games. Besides, I both enjoy and write about blockbuster games all the time, no less than I do indie games. Heck, <a href="http://stolen-projects.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/killing-is-harmless-a-critical-reading-of-spec-ops-the-line">I wrote an entire book</a> about a triple-a game that was very clearly “about” something. That game, too, was a reinvention of a long-running series. So why the double standard?</p>
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<span class="caption">The controversial cover for the upcoming game, Far Cry 4.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ubisoft</span></span>
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<p>So why this scepticism I feel towards Wolfenstein’s concentration camp, Far Cry 4’s colonial overtones and, also, if I am being completely honest, Watch Dog’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/07/watch-dogs-video-game-internet-security-ubisoft">commentary on surveillance culture</a> (moments after it asks you register for Uplay, no doubt)? I think it’s that I’ve been burned by too many games in the last 18 months that feel front-loaded with “Themes”. That is, blockbuster games that before their release, have made a big deal about being about this or that topic. Except then, when they are actually released, they are just another conventional blockbuster title with just the faintest layer of Themes painted on top.</p>
<p>Bioshock: Infinite is perhaps the best example of such a recent game that I can think of. Before its release, it was deliberately marketed as a game about racism and American nationalism. Except when it came out, it didn’t actually have much to say about it at all. The extent of its engagement with these themes <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/arts/stories/s3733057.htm">could be boiled down to</a> “Hey, racism exists but maybe everyone is equally bad”. Or Grand Theft Auto V, a game supposedly about “masculinity”, which has <a href="http://overland.org.au/2013/10/talking-loud-and-saying-nothing-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-grand-theft-auto/">even less to say about anything</a> than Bioshock: Infinite. </p>
<p>It’s part of a broader trend among blockbuster games to try to seem “mature” or “serious” by injecting some Themes without actually addressing them on anything more than a surface level. These are games that are “mature” or “serious” in the same way I thought Marilyn Manson was mature and serious when I was fifteen because he swore a lot. They are commenting on these themes to the extent that they are acknowledging that, yes, these are things that exist. That’s it.</p>
<p>And, sadly, I’ve come to realise that this has altered my expectations of any blockbuster game that markets itself as being about any one particular thing. I now expect such themes to be the thinnest veneer that can be waved around in marketing material with no deeper analysis or engagement with them. It’s perhaps why the blockbuster games that I think are most successfully about something (Driver: San Francisco, Binary Domain, Bulletstorm) do so without trying to convince me beforehand that they are about anything in particular. It just emerges as I engage with them over time.</p>
<p>To stress, the problem isn’t that games <em>must</em> be really meaningful to be important. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a game “just” being fun to play, even being slightly ridiculous. That is completely fine. But I want games to own that, to be confident about their desire to be “just” fun without an airbrushing of themes on top. Either tackle larger themes, or don’t. I thirst for that confidence of direction.</p>
<p>Of course, presumptions are usually unfair. Tomb Raider, for instance, caught a whole heap of slack for seemingly revolting depictions and suggestions of sexual violence before the game was released, unhelped by the executive produce saying in an interview how they wanted players (presumed to be male), <a href="http://kotaku.com/5917400/youll-want-to-protect-the-new-less-curvy-lara-croft">to “protect” Lara</a>, not “be” Lara. Yet, when the game came out, it was a largely refreshing game about <a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/02/tomb-raider-review-multi-platform.html">an empowered young women protagonist standing up for herself</a>. It wasn’t perfect, but it was far less problematic than the pre-release material suggested. This isn’t to say the pre-release criticism was misguided, but that sometimes blockbuster games can surpass that understandable scepticism. </p>
<p>So maybe one day when I play Wolfenstein or Far Cry 4 or Watch Dogs I’ll find myself eating my own words and accepting that they dealt with their respective themes in a mature and intelligent way. It’s entirely possible. But for now, I guess I just feel very sceptical and cynical towards big game releases that present themselves as “about something” when, so often, it turns out to just be a marketing tactic. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Recently, I’ve found myself reacting quite strongly against games I haven’t played yet. Occasionally, to games that haven’t even been released yet. I’ve found myself immediately sceptical and hostile when…Brendan Keogh, PhD Candidate, Game Studies, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/248742014-03-26T23:32:23Z2014-03-26T23:32:23ZGame cultures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">photo</span> </figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44844/original/sfmq7cj2-1395875791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Lost Level’s organisers hold up the vague ‘plan’ of talks for the afternoon.</span>
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</figure>
<p>According to a press release sent out by the <a href="http://www.gdconf.com/">Game Developers Conference</a> (GDC) at the end of last week, over 24,000 people attended the conference this year. One of the most interesting things about GDC is how it distills the entire, global games industry down to about three city blocks of downtown San Francisco. In this concentrated area, every aspect of what we call the games industry is represented (some better than others, of course), and not just the parts we want to admit exist. </p>
<p>There are the independent developers in their hoodies and brightly coloured dresses, and there are the slightly more formally dressed developers from blockbuster studios. There’s the few industry legends wandering the halls, such as John Romero, father of the first-person shooter, playing DOOM deathmatches against anyone who challenges him. These are the “creative” people of the industry, the ones that critics like myself are most interested in. </p>
<p>But they represent just one aspect of the industry. In another wing of the conference hall, people in suits are discussing strategies to monetize free-to-play games. Down on the expo floor, you are just as likely to see a display of the newest pokie machines or advertising-enabling middleware as you are an exciting new game. GDC is where you get to see the games industry in its entirety: warts and all—not just the parts you <em>want</em> to see. </p>
<p>Except, it’s not quite “all” of the industry. Or, at least, if it is the entire “industry”, it is still not a complete picture of everyone who is contributing to this thing we call “videogames”. No, to see that required that attendees took a break from the conference halls after lunch on Thursday of the week-long conference to see what was happening in a nearby park. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44847/original/5qxf77xz-1395876534.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Deirdra Kiai jamming with friends at Lost Levels.</span>
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<p>See, GDC might have had 24,000 attendees, but it draws even more people into its orbit who don’t actually attend the conference: people who want to be around to hang out with attendees but aren’t going to spend the $2000 required to actually attend the conference. These are the independent creators and students and critics who spend the days hanging out in the park or around the conference hall just to see their friends that, for one week, are all in the same city. Sometimes they might borrow a friend’s pass to see one panel or check out the expo hall. For the most part, though, they just hang out. </p>
<p>Except, that is, on Thursday afternoon. For the second year in a row, the Thursday afternoon of GDC has seen this crowd of people in the park grow into the <a href="http://lostlevels.net">Lost Levels “unconference”</a>. Organised by a group of young indie developers (including Melbourne’s own <a href="https://twitter.com/leehsl">Harry Lee</a> who co-directed the Freeplay Independent Games festival last year), Lost Levels is entirely free, open to everyone, and gives anyone the chance to spend five minutes giving a talk about anything they want. </p>
<p>Often these talks will be about games in some way, but no talk gets rejected from Lost Levels and people can submit anything they want. No shortage of students tried to cram their grand theories about Games And Poetry into a five minute talk. Critic and developer Liz Ryerson recited her powerful <a href="http://ellaguro.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/fuck-mario.html">FUCK MARIO</a>. Developer of IGF finalist <a href="http://www.dominiquepamplemousse.com/">Dominique Pamplemousse</a>, Deirdra Kiai just <a href="http://instagram.com/p/lx49BzGtHB/">jammed out for a while</a>. And, stealing the show, Naomi Clark’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iif8mFVB8jU">performative piece with Ric Chivo</a> was perhaps the most visible depiction of the tensions between what was happening in the park and what was happening across the road in the conference centre. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44845/original/gzzw5nh9-1395875827.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Game designer Michael Brough holding forth during Lost Levels.</span>
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<p>There’s no sound systems or printed itineraries or stages. Just three vague areas where people are going to start yelling about whatever they are yelling about after the last person ends. It’s practically impossible to actually plan what talks you want to see; you just have to wander up to a mob and hope you are seeing something decent (and that the person presenting is loud enough for you to hear them!). </p>
<p>The whole ordeal is a chaotic whirlwind. It makes some attendees grumpy—especially those who have wandered across from the GDC halls to see what everyone on twitter is going on about. It seems unprofessional and unorganised. Except, that’s kind of the whole point of it. In some ways, the individual talks of Lost Levels don’t matter (even if it is very important that it provides a space for such talks). </p>
<p>Rather, the point is just the sheer energy of it all. All these young, bright minds running around in the park in the sunshine. All the bemused and confused suits who were sitting in the park for lunch who aren’t quite sure what is happening. </p>
<p>I don’t want to make cliche claims about Lost Levels being “cooler” than GDC or anything like that. But it <em>is</em> exciting that it exists. It is exciting that videogames have matured to a degree that they have a counter culture that is increasingly impossible to ignore. It is exciting that I can think of as many games that I loved from the past year that came out of that park than out of the nearby conference centre. </p>
<p>Videogames are a lot of things, and Lost Levels represents that just as well as the expo floors and lecture theatres of GDC. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24874/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
According to a press release sent out by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) at the end of last week, over 24,000 people attended the conference this year. One of the most interesting things about GDC…Brendan Keogh, PhD Candidate, Game Studies, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/245202014-03-19T06:04:35Z2014-03-19T06:04:35ZGames criticism as its own thing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">CriticalProximity</span> </figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44292/original/7j9s8sny-1395208762.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Critical Proximity games criticism conference in San Francisco.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leo Burke</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>I am currently in San Francisco to attend the annual <a href="gdconf.com">Game Developers Conference</a> (GDC). It’s the biggest event in the games industry, depending on what measuring stick you use. E3 in Los Angeles is the capital consumer trade-show where new games are shown to the press and the public. </p>
<p>The various Penny Arcade Expos are where a particular “gamer” community comes together to play games. But GDC is where tens of thousands of the industry’s developers and publishers mingle and discuss craft and share knowledge (and countless entrepreneurs try to sell middleware). Indie developers in hoodies rub shoulders with social media monetization experts in suits. </p>
<p>It’s a Mecca, of sorts, as everyone in the industry comes to San Francisco for the week because, simply, everyone comes to San Francisco for the week. It’s not rare to stumble upon someone in town for GDC who does not even have a pass for the conference. They are here to network and see their friends and attend the parties and other events held during the week. </p>
<p>Where the industry is, the press is. E3 is where journalists will see the new games, but GDC is where we get direct and intimate access to a range of developers without a PR handler lurking in the background. There is no shortage of press here – a reasonable number of whom are reporting simply to get access to the press pass over the expensive all access pass; writing a few articles seems like a better deal than forking out $2000 for an all-access pass.</p>
<p>So GDC is as important for many writers as it is for the developers it was initially for. Yet, the writers – the journalists and the critics – often feel like outsiders. There are no panels for our craft. We’re just kind of here, on the sideline, observing these developers. It’s something that has bothered me in recent years. As much as I enjoy GDC, I want to talk about our own craft, too. </p>
<p>This year, my wishes were answered. Not by GDC, but by a new conference, <a href="http://critical-proximity.com/">Critical Proximity</a>, largely the brainchild of critic <a href="http://zoyastreet.com/">Zoya Street</a>, appeared the Sunday before GDC to talk specifically about the craft of games criticism. In hindsight, it was the obvious solution that was just waiting for someone to actually do it: instead of waiting for GDC to accept talks on games criticism, we should have our own conference for our own craft.</p>
<p>And it was excellent. People spoke about craft, about community, about curation, about how to actually make money from your writing. There were discussions of the importance of writing in conversation with other critics by Zoya Street; discussions of “community” and the social activism aspect of criticism by Samantha Allen. </p>
<p>Zolani Stewart and Kris Ligman confronted the related issues of a normative canon and curation respectively. Academics discussed the issues with academic criticism; mainstream journalists discussed the challenges of writing criticism for mainstream audiences. A whole range of experiences and perspectives proved, above all else, that “criticism” is a broad term that covers a vast swathe of writers and intents, and that that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.</p>
<p>It was a wonderful celebration of writing-about-games as not just the peripheral thing that happens “around” the industry and culture of games, but an industry and culture in its own right, with its own people and crafts and concerns. It was great to have a day that focused on us and what we do, before a week of being at the margins, just quietly observing. </p>
<p>The entire conference was streamed live <a href="http://critical-proximity.com/">on the website</a>, and every presentation should be available for everyone to watch. Slides, too, are available to download from the site for most talks. If you are interested in the craft of writing about games, I definitely recommend a look. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24520/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
I am currently in San Francisco to attend the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC). It’s the biggest event in the games industry, depending on what measuring stick you use. E3 in Los Angeles is the…Brendan Keogh, PhD Candidate, Game Studies, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.