Truely Next Gen

The term next gen really gets thrown around alot this generation. It's kinda funny seeing as how all three are over two years old and while they've still got a few more years in them. We're nearing the place were we start talking about whats going to be beyond even this level of technology.

This generation Nintendo stated that it was dropping out of the graphics race and that the Wii would essentially be "gameplay over graphics". This created something of a riff in the gaming circles as to which was more important or if they were indeed separable. Graphics being such a part of good game design anyways and are generally a marker of quality product (how can it play good if they couldn't even make it LOOK good). It all comes down to a matter of necessity though. Can the essence of a game be captured without high end processors/ram and other equipment that the competition has? There are a few games that truly use next gen powers and truly can't be done on anything else. Sadly, just like Wii games that use motion well, games that truly use the increase in processing power are few and far between.

One of the few games that has really pushed the necessity of hardware improvements though has got to be GTA4. Most peoples images of the GTA franchise are firmly muddled in the last generation were it sold mostly of the hype of being a realistic game that let you get away with anything. Back then the game was anything but realistic. GTA essentially sold by seeing what controversial feature it could get added to the game to upset the press and feed on the attention to drive sales. So it was a surprising turn for many when GTA4 took a different route.

Instead of being a wacky and relatively offensive game (depending on your taste). GTA4 plays out a narrative much more like that of a movie. It is truly an experience that has to be seen to believe but the writers definitely manage to put in a certain tragic subtext to the story to show what a life of crime would cost a person. But what truly impresses about this game is the since of life the city has. Critics praised this game for it but you never really get an idea of how well this is pulled off until you experience the sweeping size and scope of the game.

Many games used the next gen bump to push ridiculously high amounts of polygons into character models and up the resolution of textures until their characters started to look like they suffered from a strange form of sleep deprivation. So it's refreshing to see that GTA instead chose to give their game models a nice polish up, and focus more development were it matters the gameplay. The driving mechanics work much better then most racing games and the physics engine both in and out of car easily rival most games in either market. GTA series now seems to be remarkably close to true mastery of all areas of gaming it dabbles in.

While I personally am not a fan of the content of crime games, the amount of gameplay that the engine contributes to the game cannot be ignored by me. I hope to see this engine reused in games of other genres ( a westerner is coming out soon on the engine). If games are to prove the necessity of the high end hardware they run on I want to see more integrated and seamless use of physics. Many games could benefit from just a subtle addition of some of the features. If a game is truly next gen it should increase the scope and size beyond what has been done before and truly make the game come to life.

Personally I hope that come next round of hardware, more effort is put into allowing more characters and details to be processed on screen rather then the ussual graphical fixes.

Where Wii should have been.

It's pretty common for people on gamers forums to complain about what the Wii should have been at launch. I feel allot of these complaints though might actually be unreasonable given both Nintendo's history and their limited experience in many of the realms Wii entered into. I feel that as of this moment the Wii has finally reached the place it should have been at launch (realizing there is a difference between where they should've been at launch and where they should be two years later).

• Online - Online DIDN'T launch with the system. Instead Nintendo chose to delay online until midway through their first year. This strategy had worked previously with the DS. The DS was Nintendo's first online system so the delay had been more excusable on that platform. Also as a handheld were the feature wasn't as commonplace the launch of online for the DS (even though its competitor the PSP had beaten it to the inclusion of this feature). Nintendo might have been banking on receiving the same second wave of interest they got with the DS, but they KNEW their competitors had those features ready right out the door the decision just seems foolish.
• Wii Speak - The DS came with a built in mic, yet it took until its second batch of online games to support voice chat. It wasn't until Pokemon (several release waves later) that DS games really started to consistently use the mic for chatting on the internet. Nintendo saved Wii Speak for an E3 press conference of all things. They seemed to believe that they could somehow get positive hype from this. Nintendo believed that they were being innovative by making their chat solution more like speakerphone and less like a personal microphone. Sadly they're ignoring several things (like bad roommates) that will likely make it a hassle. Much like the DS the Wii is also not seeing much penetration of this feature, it will probably take another big release to force the feature into standardization. Of course the problem is confounded by Wii Speak being an accessory and not built in.
• Storage Solution - The Wii launched with a pitiful 512megs of on board flash memory. This would have been acceptable had they not promised downloadable games. Many expected a solution to be coming out the same year, but instead it took two years to arrive. While Nintendo's argument that most people had not reached full storage saturation was correct they failed to realize most people would stop buying before they topped out. Eventually Nintendo launched the ability to play games directly of SD cards and once again they were stunned to find no praise.
• WiiWare - The downloadable games that Nintendo featured were primarily there to make quick money off the company's large back catalog of games. While it was cool to sell off nostalgia, it didn't really push the system or it's capabilities. Nintendo waited until a year later to really get a system for publishing original games on their system. However at least in this case Nintendo seems to have realized the profit potential in a downloadable system and their DSi launched with original content first and retro content on hold.

The Lesson here is, don't be afraid to learn from your competition. Or perhaps don't be afraid to learn from your own experience. Nintendo's handheld teams and home console teams are actually two different groups. So it is understandable that not all studios would implement features at one time. But to ignore your own personal history is crazy. Glory comes from exciting new features not by following market trends years after they're standard for everyone else.

Nintendo claimed when entering the online market, that they would ignore what had already been done in favor of fresh innovation. But without knowing what has already been tried, how can you truly do something different? If your going to truly innovate on the market sometimes it still takes a certain knowledge of how things have evolved. Not everything you do needs to be a market disruptor.

Nintendo is now were they should've been two years ago. Now the best they can do is reorganize their corporate structure to better respond and polish the infrastructure they spent way too much time getting to market.

Rise of Interactive Attractions.

In this era technology advances more by combination's of existing inventions, than it does by completely original developments (arguments about the existence of TRUE originality withstanding). The iPod and many other devices increasing gaming features at all times it's not surprising to see other industry's seeing how they can fit in with their systems. Thus theme parks have caught onto the trend, by building interactive darkrides.

The interactive darkride trend is nothing new to the theme park industry (it began in the 90's). But the obvious move towards a more video game like experience wasn't realized, until Disney built Midway Mania.

The ride combines allot of long older theme park concepts. The first being the classic darkride system which involves a relatively slow moving vehicle that goes past scenery indoors. The other is 4D effects. 4D movies themselves are something that have long since grown tired in the theme park market. Originally they were a cleaver spin on 3D movies, simply adding in quick gags like spraying the viewer with water or air guns. It sprawled out into moving seats/floors, artificial scent technology and hidden animatronics. But at this point most 4D ideas have already been done and 3D technology becoming prominent in local theaters.

When drafting Midway Mania, interactivity was probably the primary thought on the designers minds. To bring a game experience to a theme park audience wouldn't be doable if they had kept the theater design. So it's likely that the darkride system was simply used because it is an effective way to move a large amount of people through an experience at a reasonable pace.

The game aspects of the ride aren't especially innovative either. Essentially all of the games are different flavors of shooting at targets (makes since considering that guests only form of interaction is through pull string cannons). The success of the ride is based almost purely on the novelty of the experience (much like Wii mini games). From a development standpoint it really brings to mind minigame collections like Nintendo's Wii Play.

Don't expect a story or immersive experience you might find in more modern games. Also don't expect the trademark all encompassing feeling that rides like Pirates have offered in the past. You'll simply be carted from scene to scene aiming at different types of targets with different types of ammo. The scenes aren't really tied together much besides a few props and painted flats from the side, the 3D is done on what amounts to giant television sets.

The ride is impressive for now, but it feels almost like it's still in beta. It's likely Disney is holding back on this one. There has already been talk on how easy it is to reprogram and add in new footage to the ride (perhaps for Holiday overlays). It is perhaps for this reason that the rest of the decoration inside the attraction is so sparse. Though, that may be debatable considering how elaborate the queue is in both parks. The ride's presence in California Adventure fits with an entire midway area in that park. But they've also built it in their Studios park were the theme connection isn't as logical, and they're planning to build another in the America section of their Tokyo parks (again without much themed tie in).

As a technical showpiece though, Midway Mania shows a bright new more dynamic future for parks that may copy it's success. It will be interesting to see what other interactive innovations Disney's new initiatives will bring.

"Your life will never be Mundania when you play Midway Mania!"

Nintendo Wii - Going Forward (part 1.5) *a continuation of online*

After discussions with friends and reading the latest on the "The Conduit" (a Wii game), here is a follow up of my original article:

The response that I've generally received is, "it is unacceptable for Nintendo to only allow friends to chat with each other. Microsoft allows personal networking and talking to strangers, Nintendo should use this model as well." I would disagree.

One of the main strengths to the Microsoft model is that it allows users to make friends more easily. Why should people go out of their way to try to meet people who play the same game (be it via online forum or actual real life social situations), when the game itself could easily facilitate those relationships? If your paying for internet access and using a computer, your already risking at least some form of interaction through the internet by one of your family members.

Given this, why should Nintendo maintain a layer of separation between social networking and your home console? One valid point is the fact that it removes risk of unwanted harassment through the gaming system. But it also stands that a profitable corporation could hire administrators to monitor and control activity over an online network. However it's expensive to pay for administrators and you have to consider were that budget comes from. If there is no subscription fee to the service, money would need to be taken from game sales. It becomes a hazy argument to make from the financing side.

Nintendo could institute a pay only system. But consumers will get a better deal, if they institute the system I proposed in my last article. A pay based online option could be added to their service at a later date. Nintendo has stated that it will investigate fee based online games at a later date.

Ultimately I don't think it's fare to the consumer to pay for a service that (outside of it's great messaging service) simply organizes the shaking of hands between systems (basically this means that most games don't run from centralized servers but rather one of the consoles selected by a Microsoft system takes up the server responsibility for the gamers). Not only is online gaming via PC already free, but so is messenger and many of the services Microsoft offers.

Some may see my idea of a friends only system as a cop out (in comparison to a open social network). But Nintendo has to contend with the family/nontechnical market they're bringing in. It all boils down to the children. While parents should have a better technical understanding of how systems work and how their children socialize, they generally do not. While I often side with those that argue it is the parents problem, I cannot deny that companies do have at least some responsibility to make life easier for parents. Nintendo is a family company and family means playing it safe. I also believe that a conservative stance (if executed the way I described in my previous article), is one that will allow for better experience to the non-technical group that the Wii attracts.

Uninitiated gamers are not likely to enjoy a game if their first interactions with it are generally negative. In fact most people wouldn't enjoy a situation were they not only perform poorly, but also receive verbal abuse. It's better marketing if the situation is positive and encouraging. Granted some will hold up online Role Playing Games such as World of Warcraft as examples were politeness is encouraged. However most online Roll Playing Games have the benefit of not being directly competitive but rather communal in their design (I hope to cover this subject further in later blogs).

It simply works better to make the option for playing friends online easy and intuitive. Keeping it simple for the average user should be Nintendo's first priority and I believe my suggestions would work best for the time being. With more experience and development time, I can see Nintendo easily forward and providing further service options for both casual and hardcore (most likely at additional cost). But I stand by my initial five recommendations, when it comes to out of the box online connectivity.


Moving on to the subject of the game, "The Conduit." High Voltage designed The Conduit as a game which will fill a lot of the needs other developers have ignored on the Wii. Its main press coverage has regarded it's impressive graphics. However The Conduit is also progressive in the way of online features.

Reading up on some of the latest features for this game; I felt the need to comment on one of the ideas the developers had, that I did not include in my five recommendations. Namely the ability to talk to friends of friends. While it's a novel idea allows for more freedom, it takes away from the control a player would have in who they can/can't talk to on the system. Granted there could be a place for a friends code forwarding system were you can recommend friends to each other (like what Facebook allows). But simply extending communication in a game, to friends of friends, is a shaky move depending on how family friendly you want to appear.

High Voltage is clearly going for the hardcore group with this game. I believe that it works to their benefit, in this case, and encourage other companies with similar aspirations to do the same. But I don't believe it needs to be a general guideline for online in general. Family games (and by extension mainstream Nintendo games) should avoid such a feature, in favor of relying on more direct control by the user.


That does it for now. I may add more of these online coverage updates as things change. The next update to my series "Nintendo Wii - Going forward" should be posted later this week.