Games consoles are undoubtedly the most popular platforms for video games. The computer game industry is one that was born on the PC but has now migrated to the masses and their XBox 360s and Playstation 3s. The reasons for this are manifold and some of the advantages of consoles over PCs are huge. While PCs retain a sector of the market and remain strong in a few genres it is without question the era of the games console.
The most obvious advantage of a console, and probably the single biggest factor leading to their success, is the ease of use. To play a game on a console all you need to do is just put the game in the machine and turn it on. Installing a game on a PC can be a long and painful process as you make sure your hardware is up to the task, install drivers, clear hard disk space, patch the game, fix bugs and go through extensive copy protection. Playing games on a console is a painless experience, and it can often be far from easy on a PC.
Longevity is another factor behind console success. A few hundred pounds investment at the start of a console’s life will get you a guaranteed lifetime until the next generation. The Playstation 2 is still going after nine years, suddenly the initial £300 purchase looks cheap compared to the cost of keeping a PC upgraded over the same period. A console will always be able to play the latest games, while PCs will need constant enhancements. New graphics cards alone will be more expensive than a new console, and you’ll also need the expertise in order to fit the part, something that most people lack.
A good multiplayer console game can be enjoyed in the living room with friends. Multiplayer PC games are played alone over the Internet. While PCs will always give you a wider amount of people to interact with you’re always connected remotely. A games console can generate a genuine social environment and with the Nintendo Wii proving popular it is certainly something that games developers haven’t missed out on. The advent of online gaming for consoles will soon rule out any Internet advantage that PCs have as consoles move towards being a central entertainment device for the home.
For the majority of people consoles are easier to play games on, the controllers are ergonomically designed and easy to use. Many people find a keyboard and mouse too fiddly and certainly for many games they are inferior, only really retaining an advantage in FPS and RTS. The simplicity of design and ease of use is a major factor in console success.
Probably the second main advantage after ease of use is the games that are released for consoles. Most high budget blockbuster games see their first release on a console followed by a bug-filled rerelease on PC some months later. Because consoles have a higher gamer userbase developers will spend more money making games for the wider audience. As consoles integrate movies and web browsing into their functions they will most likely phase out the PC as an entertainment device. Because of this more developer time and money will go into console games, making them clearly superior. It’s never been a better time to own a games console, and the next generation looks set to take over all digital entertainment in the home.
In years gone past video game villains were over the top caricatures of film villains. Often portrayed as a psychopath bent on world domination for whatever reasons, these villains would give the game a reason for being, you played the hero and you must save the world from the villain. As time has passed and the technology used for computer games has come on so too have the characterisation and portrayal of villains into something more akin to their film brethren. In this article I will take a look at some of my favourite video game villains and explain what made them so great.
The G-Man from the Half Life series of games is one of the most iconic villains ever to make an appearance in a game. He takes the appearance of a tall, thin man in a cheap suit, much like a government employee. His qualities are similar to that of the Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files TV series. You’re never quite sure of his motives, at times he directly helps you and at others he will hinder your progress. He can often be seen observing the players actions and will talk to you in a cryptic fashion.
Uncertainty is what makes the G-Man such a great villain. You’re uncertain of his motives, his identity, his allegiances, his power and whether or not he is human. He gives the player numerous Hobson’s choices, where you must decide between two seemingly unfavourable options. He remains perfectly calm in times of seemingly high danger so you’re left wondering if all that goes on is entirely down to his plans. Even after two full games and many expansions you’re still left with very little information about the G-Man, and it is this sense of foreboding and uncertainty that makes him such a great character.
A completely unemotional AI is always an engaging villain, just see films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Matrix as examples. The thought of an entity that has absolutely no remorse or mercy can be genuinely scary, and when Valve added a dash of dark humour to their incarnation in 2007 they created an instant classic. GLaDOS was the star of Portal. A sentient AI that seemed genuinely unhinged she would constantly tease you throughout the course of the game. She provided a slew of memorable quotations and an unforgettable final battle. While not intrinsically evil it shows that computer villains can be extremely effective in a cold, heartless way. They don’t hate you, they’re just doing their job, and if that means burning you to a crisp, then so be it.
Another classic villain archetype is that of the fallen hero. Probably the greatest use of this example is in the Star Wars series of films where Anakin Skywalker is corrupted and becomes Darth Vader, a complete transformation from the ultimate good guy to one of the most notorious villains of all time. In Warcraft 3, the character of Arthas suffered a similar fate. Once held up as the perfect hero he becomes corrupted by power and becomes the leader of what was once his enemy. He even leads armies against his former home and kills his father. The sight of one destroying what he once looked to protect was also used in Star Wars, and has significantly more impact that some motiveless villain doing it out of spite.
Of course, no video game would be complete without the ultimate in virtual villains – other players. If you thought that the bosses you faced in Resident Evil were bad then think again, they’re nothing compared to what players will do to you. The anonymity of the Internet creates an interesting environment where no one is accountable for their actions. Because of this people are basically free to act as they wish, and so will use every advantage, cheat, exploit and hack they can get their hands on. You’ll encounter a surprising amount of devious cunning when multiplayer competition is involved and certainly other players are the ‘villain’ that have had me wanting to throw my keyboard out of the window more than any other.
There are, of course, many more great villains that this but I feel that these represent some of the more successful ones in crossing that barrier between film and games in presenting more believable characters with some amount of depth to them. As the technology reaches a point of near realism game designers will have to work harder to create great games and so I’m sure more time will go into characterisation. This should lead to some classic villains in the future, and I look forward to what comes next.
My money is on Liu Kang, given that he can turn into a dragon…
I’m sure anyone that has ever owned a video game console or played games on their PC has those few games that they remember most fondly. As the game industry has grown up and evolved so too have the players themselves. The kids who were playing Mario on their NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) and SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) are now spending hundreds of pounds on top end PCs and Xbox 360s.
I’m no different and video games were a huge part of my childhood while growing up. While many people are glued to their TV spending hours watching the same mindless shows I found that games consoles gave a much richer experience. I’m not alone and there are many great games I’ve played over the years. The following five games are ones that stand out above all others and the ones that changed the way I saw electronic entertainment.
Tetris was the first. As a six year old boy in 1990 I was the proud owner of an original Nintendo GameBoy with Tetris included as the only game. Now obviously as one so young I was never much good at it. I never saw the rocket ship that supposedly appeared if you got a really high score, and I never finished the game. However, what Tetris did do for me was spark an interest in computer games.
Created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov the game is one of the most popular and influential of all time. It has appeared in some form on almost every single device capable of running games since it was first released. The version that I played 18 years ago on the GameBoy was one of the most popular and the version that shot it to international success. Tetris is consistently named in the top 5 of ‘Greatest Game of All Time’ lists, I expect for reasons similar to my own.
There have been many games since that have far eclipsed Tetris in almost every facet but it still remains that first introduction to video games for thousands, maybe millions of people.
Next up is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. A flagship title for the SNES in the early 90s, A Link to The Past was unlike anything I’d ever played before. Offering two huge worlds to explore and a plot not unlike anything from a Lord of the Rings book it offered more gameplay and replay value than any game I’d played. For the time the graphics and the sounds were amazing and I spent many hours lost in the immersive game world.
The reason I picked this game over it’s successor, Ocarina of Time, is that this is the first Zelda game I played, and as such has left a lasting impression. While Ocarina of Time is generally thought of, and rightly so, as being the superior game it was A Link to The Past that really made a huge success of the Zelda franchise.
The next game I chose for this article is one that is actually fairly similar to A Link to The Past. It is made by a Japanese company, features a large explorable game world, a great cast of characters, an engaging story and fantastic gameplay. Final Fantasy 7 was a massive hit. The first of the series to make any impact outside its native Japan the game features one of the best stories ever told in a video game.
This was the first game where I felt that games and film were really starting to merge. FF7 featured many non-interactive cut scenes and FMV (full motion video) sequences to augment the gameplay and help tell the story. While many people are put off by the lengthy pauses in action and hefty amount of text to read I found that the game became like reading a book in which you could decide how the story would unfold and which characters would star, and even if they would live or die.
The success of Final Fantasy 7 led the way for many similar games to get made and flourish in the western market, which typically hadn’t warmed to Japanese RPG titles, instead preferring driving and fighting games. It is my belief that even online games such as EverQuest and World of Warcraft would never have enjoyed the level of success they have if it wasn’t for FF7.
Usually games based on films are some of the worst games you can play. I don’t think I’ve played a good one before or since my next entry. As important as FF7 was for the Playstation, Goldeneye 007 was so for the N64. A brilliant game that helped bring FPS to consoles and pioneer many features that are simply taken for granted these days.
However the reason I’ve mentioned Goldeneye isn’t for the single player game, nor for the groundbreaking technology. It is for the multiplayer. This was the game that made me realise that as fun as games were, they were far more fun when playing with and against your friends instead of on your own. I lost countless hours of sleep in the late 90s to all-nighter Goldeneye multiplayer sessions with school friends. A brilliant game and the best use of a film license that I can think of.
Last up is a game that brought me back to the PC for games, and one that thanks to its huge modding community has kept me playing for years after its initial release.
Half Life and its sequels and mods that followed were and still are the defining PC games of their generation. The first Half Life game was praised for the complete immersion it offered the player, telling the story entirely through the eyes of Gordon Freeman, without ever taking control from you.
Half Life also had a huge and dedicated modding community. These people created their own single and multiplayer games using the Half Life engine and the SDK released by Valve. Of these mods Counter Strike is by far the most successful and was later released as a commercial product. Counter Strike also happened to be the game that introduced me to games online and on LANs, an extension of the multiplayer gaming enjoyed with Goldeneye on the N64 some years earlier.
Well these were the games that influenced me the most, it is really hard to pick a top 5 and there are many that I’ve missed. I’m sure that some will agree with the games I’ve listed and others won’t be able to comprehend some of the titles I’ve left out. Hopefully in the future we’ll see some games that will push the boundaries even further and eclipse what we’ve seen so far.
There is no doubt that video games are in their golden age at the moment. Since 2007 sales of consoles and games have grown by 57% in spite of the economic downturn. During March 2008 $1.7 billion worth of games products were sold. The games industry is now bigger than films and is gaining more and more mainstream appeal and recognition.
The Nintendo Wii has helped to bring games to a much wider audience than was ever thought possible. Many families and older people are joining in what was traditionally a hobby for young males. The current generation of technology has pushed games further than they’ve ever been before. Games on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 are pushing graphical realism to new heights while the Wii is looking to break the boundary between virtual and real space with motion sensitive controls.
An interesting question to pose is where the next generation will go, and where video game entertainment will end up. A common theory is that they will move away from being games as such and end up as virtual reality like experiences. The starting points of the necessary technologies to achieve this are already in place.
The controls of the Wii are a significant stepping stone toward virtual reality in the home. Imagine if when playing Wii Bowling instead of watching the screen with cartoon characters mimicking your actions you were wearing a headset and being fed photorealistic graphics from a first person perspective. The experience would be far more realistic than anything available at the moment.
It is my opinion that there will be two distinct directions that electronic entertainment will take. One path is that of the Wii, appealing to a mass market with easy to pick-up games that are designed for a quick dose of fun with family and friends. The other side I think will go down the ultra realistic route and end up trying to give the user a virtual reality experience. With technology as it is, the scope for providing this in the home is limited. The Wii remote requires users to physically move their bodies. Obviously this will not work in the living room once games require you to do more than swing a tennis racquet or bowl a ball.
A workaround for requiring physical movement from the participants is to read brain activity. While currently the stuff of science fiction there are significant strides being made into reading human brain waves and converting them into mechanical movement. On the 28th of May 2008 the BBC posted a news article stating that scientists from the University of Pittsburgh had managed to get a monkey to control a robot arm to feed itself by just using its brain. The monkey had tiny probes the width of a human hair inserted into the primary motor cortex in order to read the electronic impulses that control movement. With a little training the monkey was able to manipulate the robotic arm as if it was its own.
Such invasive procedures are obviously out of the question for simple home use but it is certainly feasible to see the technology being adapted to read the brain from outside the head. It would be in this way that thoughts could be read to control movements in a virtual reality. This technology would also have other significant advantages, such as restoring movement to those crippled by spinal injuries and motor neurone diseases. I would see a difficulty when using these systems in separating virtual and real movements. Once trained to control movements in a virtual world with the brain would one be able to move their real body properly afterwards?
With technology such as this in place combined with ultra realistic graphics, we may see some virtual reality games created that are almost indistinguishable from real life. Would this lead to a mass migration to a virtual world where people can be as they please? Perhaps the topic for another article but certainly it is a scenario explored in many science fiction books and films.
In 1999 action film The Matrix famously told of a future in which mankind lived unknowingly in a virtual reality, their physical bodies were used to power the machines which had enslaved them. While unlikely to happen, when you read stories of Korean men starving themselves to death while playing MMO games it certainly does make you worry about how many people would abandon their bodies should such technology become available.
In reality though it is highly unlikely that virtual realities this complex will be able to exist, at least not in the foreseeable future. The computing power required to process them is trillions of times greater than what can be achieved today, with some theories suggesting that it would take a computer the size of a planet to process a virtual reality complex enough to fool the human mind.
I do think that games will reach an extremely high level of realism though, just not in entirely virtual worlds. The biggest barrier isn’t just processing power, but how to give enough feedback to trick the senses. I think that vision and sound will be relatively simple to reproduce but taste, smell and touch will be much harder. The issue of balance is a sticking point as well. Without direct input into the brain these sense may prove impossible to mimic inside a computer simulation.
Of course in the end it also comes down to what is financially viable for a company to put out and sell. The consumer will dictate the direction that games end up taking by what they’re willing to spend money on. With the dominating success of the Wii over the other platforms it would suggest that users are more comfortable using controls that mimic real life actions than they are using a traditional control pad or keyboard and mouse.
Graphics and simulations will continue to improve over time and I’m sure that one day it will be quite standard to wear a headset to play games. Whether that headset reads the thoughts of the user or not depends on whether it becomes cost effective to sell to consumers and whether people are ready to embrace the technology. I’m sure the possibility will exist at some point in the future but whether it represents the future of video games and is actually used remains debatable.
Everything considered the future of electronic entertainment is certainly a bright one. Eventually the technologies will merge and we’ll see virtual reality games integrated into TV, radio and the Internet. The only question is when all this will happen.
