CHEGheads Blog

Video Game Villains Countdown 5: The Most Evil of Them All

Posted by ssymonds - 07/23/10 at 10:07 am

Here’s what you’ve all been waiting for—the top five most iconic video game villains of all time.

#5: Donkey Kong: King of video game gorillas!

Donkey Kong is known as one of the first games to have the semblance of a plot—rescue the Lady from the evil ape! Though the original Donkey Kong may not have had much of a personality, you can’t ignore the thrill of battle as you navigate the hero Jumpman through the treacherous levels of ladders and barrels. Upon reaching the princess, a sweet taste of victory in your mouth, you are thwarted when Donkey Kong scoops up the Lady and carries her to the next platform. DK has evolved much in the past 30 years, including an update to his wardrobe consisting of a bright red tie with his initials. Along with Mario, he is a Nintendo icon, having appeared both as a playable character in games like Super Smash Bros. and as the star of his own games such as Donkey Konga. As one of the first memorable villains with his own story, and for his sheer popularity among gamers and non-gamers alike, Donkey Kong deserves a spot on our list. King Kong, eat your heart out!

#4: Ganon: The Dark Beast

Dark sorcerers always make for interesting villains, and Ganon, the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series, is no different. What puts Ganon head and shoulders above most of the rest is his versatility. He’s a powerful magician, a brilliant strategist, a master manipulator, a shape shifter, and an excellent swordsman. He also possesses the Triforce of Power, a mystical relic that grants him enormous power and allows him to survive normally fatal wounds, such as being stabbed in the heart. Generally, you don’t have a chance of hurting him unless you have sacred weapons at your disposal. Further, in the event that you are able to kill him, Ganon is not likely to remain dead. Sometimes he is resurrected by his followers, and other times he simply finds a way to cheat death. The Legend of Zelda is the only game, other than Mario, to appear on every single Nintendo console. And I think we can all agree that Link wouldn’t be a great hero if he hadn’t faced such a spectacular and worthy enemy.

#3: Sephiroth: One-Winged Angel

Although not as diabolically evil as some of the other villains on this list, there is arguably no other RPG character—villain or otherwise—more recognizable than Sephiroth, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VII. Traditionally pictured carrying the iconic Masamune sword and wearing black armor, with his long, platinum blond hair billowing out behind him, the very image of Sephiroth conjures villainous thoughts. After Sephiroth realizes he is the product of a biological experiment, created from cells of a being known as Jenova, he goes mad, burns an entire village to the ground, and begins a quest to become a god and rule the world. Perhaps the most memorable scene from the game is his murder of Aerith Gainsborough, a universally loved character. In a moment of complete silence, Sephiroth impales her from behind as she is praying at an alter. Sephiroth’s cultural impact on the gaming community is huge. Log on to any MMORPG and you will find a myriad of players who named their characters after him, though because there can be only one true  Sephiroth in each game, most players resort to distortions and obvious misspellings in order to claim even the semblance of the name.  I placed him third on our list because two other villains had more impact on video gaming as a whole, but Sephiroth is my personal favorite.

#2: Bowser: The most dangerous turtle ever created!

Children today recognize Mario more often than they do Mickey Mouse. But where would Mario be without his arch-nemesis, the kidnapper of his princess, and the coolest turtle ever? Serving as the main antagonist in almost every Mario game, Bowser, or King Koopa as he is sometimes known, is nearly as well known as Mario himself. While Bowser generally relies on the same types of tricks to beat his nemesis each game—such as breathing fire and trying to stomp Mario into the ground—Bowser is nothing if not patient and persistent. Whenever one plan fails, he’s always back in the next game with another agenda. In his most recent game, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Bowser becomes a playable character along with Mario and Luigi, and the game provides a humorous look at interactions between Bowser and his incompetent minions. With so many video game appearances to his name, it’s no surprise that Bowser remains one of the most iconic video game villains ever created.

#1: Pac-Man Ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde

Who else could be number one? When Pac-Man debuted in 1980, video game arcades were saturated with Pong clones and space shooters. Pac-Man proved an instant success and became an immediate cultural icon. Practically everyone recognized Pac-Man, even if they’d never played the game. But the game’s fame is not why Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde deserve the number one spot on this list. What makes them so special is that there’s no guaranteed way to beat them. You have no special code to punch into the game to make it easier, no combination of buttons for the final fight, and no game guide to follow. Over the years, fans have analyzed the ghosts and their “personalities” and drawn some general conclusions regarding speed and possible interaction with one another. Supposedly the direction of the ghosts’ eyes will tell you which way they will turn. But overall, the ghosts are random, and no two games are ever the same. Constant practice will, of course, improve your reflexes and help you survive longer, but there is no real, consistent strategy that can be applied. The only thing you can be sure of is that they’ll all converge around that last dot you accidentally missed and be ready and waiting to snatch victory from your clutches.

And there you have it—my personal choices for the most iconic video game villains in history. Now that you’ve read my list, make sure to share yours. Whom did I miss that you’d definitely include? Who is your choice for the top spot? Did any of the characters I listed bring back special memories for you? I can’t wait to read your stories!

Top 25 Video Game Villains 4: Mind Games

Posted by ssymonds - 07/22/10 at 10:07 am

Welcome back to our countdown of the all-time top 25 villains. Below we have a nice combination of villains from both classic games and exciting newer ones, along with one of my personal favorites coming in at number six!

#10: Space Invaders Aliens: “Just…one…more…quarter…”

Space Invaders’ place in video game history is solid and unquestioned. As one of the first shooting games, Space Invaders is credited with making video games more attractive to the general public. In addition, the game play is simple—shoot the white alien ships before they reach Earth. If even one reaches your base at the bottom of the screen, it’s game over. Of course, the more aliens you kill, the faster they move and the more difficult it becomes to shoot them down. But surely you’ll win next time, right? The game prompts you to insert coin after coin for a rematch, making it highly addictive in nature. In addition, Space Invaders was the first arcade game to keep track of high scores, and the desire to continuously improve kept you coming back for more. Though tiny and heavily pixilated, the white Space Invader ships are so prevalent in today’s culture that they often stand as an icon for video games as a whole.  My hands start to twitch every time I see an image of one of these aliens.

#9: Dr. Wily: “I’ve decided I’d like to take over the world!”

The primary villain of the Mega Man series is a perfect example of what happens to evil geniuses who don’t have enough toys to play with as children and end up ignored as adults. Dr. Wily had an illustrious academic career culminating with a PhD in robotics. Originally he partnered with Dr. Light to build a group of robots that would help save humanity. When he failed to receive any credit for this joint endeavor, Wily decided to steal the robots and re-program them to assist in his personal take-over of the world. His alleged genius is called into question, because in each game he continuously produces eight robots that are always destroyed by Mega Man. However, his persistence cannot be questioned. He rises from each defeat and forges ahead, determined that this time he will succeed. And let’s face it, anyone who looks like Albert Einstein has to be awesome!

#8: GlaDOS: Let them eat cake!

Eerily reminiscent of our earlier-featured villain SHODAN is Portal’s villain, GlaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System). She is also the only other being you interact with during the entire game, which makes her even more sinister. At first you think, sure, her voice is a little strange, almost musical in a nefarious sort of way, and she sometimes has static bursts or mangles words during the most important parts of her speeches, but she is your trainer and helpful teacher, so she can’t be all bad—you think. She even promises to give you cake when you successfully complete your training missions! But when she eventually tries to incinerate you, the writing on the wall becomes clear—literally. A former “test subject” scribbles “The cake is a lie!” several times on a wall, warning you that GlaDOS is not to be trusted. By the end of the game, it becomes evident not only that is GlaDOS untrustworthy, but that she also has definite programming issues. While GlaDOS is trying to kill you with neurotoxins, she even attempts to convince you that you’re the evil murderer. You’ll never forget that surgery sweet voice stating “killing you and giving you good advice aren’t mutually exclusive.”

#7: Psycho Mantis: “Now let me read your mind.”

Metal Gear Solid’s Psycho Mantis is a truly unique villain. He possesses excellent telepathic and telekinetic powers, which he uses in a way that allows him to interact with you as the game player and not just your game character. In the final battle, Psycho Mantis proves the extent of his powers by reading your mind. He will comment on how often you’ve saved the video game, and he will also mention other games you’ve played, most notably Castlevania and Suikoden. In actuality, the game program reads your memory card and then determines how many saves you’ve made and what other games you’ve played on the system. Psycho Mantis also demonstrates his telekinetic abilities when you place your video game controller on the floor and he uses his “will power” to move it. The game uses the Dual Shock rumble built into the controller, causing it to move across the floor! During battle, Psycho Mantis easily prevents all your attacks by “reading your thoughts.” Only by physically unplugging your controller from the Player One slot and inserting it into Player Two can you block his psychic powers and win the game. No other villain interacts with you and forces you to take actions in real life to defeat him, and for that, Psycho Mantis earns a high spot on this list.

#6: Kefka: Dancing Mad

We all know there’s a fine line between genius and madness, and many of the villains previously listed walk that line beautifully. Kefka Palazzo of Final Fantasy VI, court-mage-turned-megalomaniac-psychopath, is a different story entirely. He doesn’t walk the line at all—he dances over it, twisting and twirling, sometimes jumping back and forth across, even moving the line from one spot to another, and finally erasing it all together.  Kefka has no tragic past, no revenge motives, and no humanity. He is purely evil. He poisons an entire village because its members aren’t surrendering fast enough and he eventually comes to power by throwing his emperor off a floating continent. His ultimate goal is to destroy all sentient life and create a monument to nothingness . . . and he comes dangerously close to succeeding. In fact, the first half of the game ends with Kefka becoming imbued with the power of a god, and he smites anyone who refuses to worship him. By the end of the game, what little is left of his mind snaps, and you can save the world from total destruction only by killing him. Kefka’s insanity and total lack of any moral code—even one specific only to himself—makes him one of the greatest villains of all time. Oh, and by the way, don’t ever let sand get on his boots. Just sayin’.

Who do you think will make the final five? Do you have predictions for the very top spot? Comment here and let me know your thoughts, and then be sure to check back for the results!

Top 25 Video Game Villains 3: Is Your Favorite Listed?

Posted by ssymonds - 07/21/10 at 11:07 am

This edition of our video game villain countdown will take us more than halfway through our list and will, I hope, bring back some wonderful memories for you.

#15: Dracula: Evil is seductive.

You’ve heard of this guy, right? Prince of Darkness, Vlad the Impaler, put Transylvania on the map, probably inspired the Count from Sesame Street, etc. This notoriety alone makes him worth mentioning, but the Dracula of the Castlevania series is memorable because he proved to be one of the first vampires to show sparks of human emotions. He has a soft spot for his son Alucard, despite their rocky relationship, and through game play you understand that the root of his evil stems from the loss of two women he truly loved. He’s also a crafty villain who loves to teleport across the screen during battles, and because you can only defeat him with blows to the neck, he’s difficult to beat. But if I’m being honest, the real reason I made sure to include Dracula is because of his excellent fashion sense! He most assuredly gets extra points for his cape, ruffled shirts, and lovely locks of hair!

#14: M. Bison: Never underestimate a dictator with delusions of grandeur!

Serving as the primary antagonist of Street Fighter II, M. Bison (or Vega, as he is known in the Japanese version) is the head of the crime syndicate Shadaloo and the host of the Street Fighter II tournament. In addition, he dreams of becoming dictator over the entire world and wields an evil energy known as Psycho Power. What solidifies M. Bison’s position on this list is his villainous personality. He fights for selfish interests, is openly cruel and mocking, and has no qualms about sacrificing friend or foe to get what he wants. Not only does he have no mercy for beaten enemies, whom he sees as weak and unworthy of life, but he fully endorses human experimentation and brainwashing to further his aims. Of course, he’s an incredibly difficult final boss, but in this case, it’s the personality and not the gaming mechanics that make him so memorable.

#13: Mike Tyson: Death in one punch!

Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! is one of Nintendo Entertainment System’s best games, and one of the reasons for this ranking is its undeniable difficulty. While not a traditional video game villain, Mike Tyson brings just as many shudders and cringes from players as any demon or super computer. What makes this fight brutal is that for the first minute and a half of the match, one hit from Tyson will result in your immediate death. It’s just “Game Over.” Surviving requires excellent reflexes and knowledge of Tyson’s somewhat predictable movements—he always starts each match with the same sequences of punches, and sometimes his winks give away which hand he’ll punch with next. In 1990, Tyson’s contract with Nintendo expired and he was replaced with the fictional character Mr. Dream, but who can forget the hair-trigger dodges and frantic button smashing that accompanied a fight with Mike?  Tyson deserves a spot here for the sheer frustration he caused many of us.

#12: Dr. Robotnik: Not your average Teddy Roosevelt clone!

A character who can claim to be both a mad scientist and a genius has the makings of a classic villain. Dr. Robotnik, the main villain of the Sonic the Hedgehog games, exhibits both of these important traits—he is considered the foremost authority on robotics and he boasts an IQ of 300. With a face modeled loosely on that of Teddy Roosevelt, complete with handlebar mustache, and a body shaped like a giant egg (hence his nickname, Dr. Eggman), Dr. Robotnik doesn’t come across as scary. However, he is a constant force to be reckoned with, as he has a seemingly endless army of robots at his command, as well as chess-like strategies that always include numerous back-up plans. What I love most about him is his almost dual personality. He passes himself off as an analytical scientist and polite gentleman, but he is also prone to throwing childish tantrums whenever Sonic foils his plans.

#11: Mother Brain: Some villains are too cool for bodies!

Unlike some villains, the main antagonist of the Metroid series is exactly what her name implies—a giant brain—but she also has a huge eye and some awesome cybernetic spikes. She works with a group of Space Pirates who wreck havoc across the galaxy and are famous for their ability to raid a vessel one minute and vanish the next.  What? Did you think a huge brain would be content to just sit around in her glass jug all day? Mother Brain holds a particularly special place in my heart, as I remember watching the TV series Captain N: The Game Master, which included characters from a myriad of video games such as Kid Icarus, Mega Man, Castlevania, and Donkey Kong. Mother Brain served as a representative from Metroid and was the foremost villain of the series, and while she appeared a trifle more incompetent on television, compared to way she came off in the games, I still fell in love with her wit, diabolical schemes, and evil laugh. Plus, she’s really hard to beat!

Only 10 more villains to go! Has your favorite made the list yet? Make sure to check back for the next five!

Top 25 Video Game Villains 2: Monsters, Machines and Many Arms!

Posted by ssymonds - 07/20/10 at 09:07 am

Here are our next five classic favorites, as we continue counting down the Top 25 video game villains.

#20: Cyberdemon: Demon to the nth degree

The video game series Doom is famous for putting first-person shooters on the map. It proved so popular, in fact, that it inspired a number of extremely similar games colloquially known as “Doom Clones.” What good is a shooting game without something big and ugly to shoot at? As we saw with Diablo, demons are always a safe choice. And what could top a standard Hell demon, you might wonder? How about a standard Hell demon with the addition of a cybernetic missile launcher as an arm? If this sounds like a good target, check out the Cyberdemon, which the Doom II manual describes as “A missile-launching skyscraper with goat legs. ‘Nuff said.” Imagine staring down the barrel of your gun at that creature. ‘Nuff said, indeed.

#19: Grue: The real reason children are afraid of the dark!

“The grue is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth. Its favorite diet is adventurers, but its insatiable appetite is tempered by its fear of light. No grue has ever been seen by the light of day, and few have survived its fearsome jaws to tell the tale,” claims the narrator of the game Legend of Zork. A grue can be anywhere. You can’t see it, can’t hear it, can’t smell it. It simply sits in the dark, waiting for you to wander into its lair. Even the traditional font of this iconic text-based game evokes haunting memories of the grue. No wonder we’re all still afraid of the dark.

#18: SHODAN: A perfect, immortal machine?

SHODAN, which stands for Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network, is a computer gone bad. Appearing in the game System Shock, SHODAN served as an artificial intelligence for a research and mining space station. After being hacked by the order of a corrupt government official, SHODAN loses her ethical and morality programs and begins to systematically kill all members of the station or, at the very least, turns them into cyborgs. Perhaps most memorable about the character is her voice, which includes stuttering, major fluctuations in pitch and tone, and electronic crackling noises that resemble a sound card malfunction. Since SHODAN has no physical body and cannot attack, you spend much of the game listening to her taunts and insults while fighting her minions. She makes you want to purchase earplugs.

#17: Sinistar: “Beware, I live!”

Developed by Williams Electronics in 1982, Sinistar is known as the first arcade game to use stereo sound, which greatly enhanced the game experience. It’s bad enough that a huge cybernetic floating skull is trying to blast your spaceship into pieces. You also have to deal with his roaring right in your ear! These iconic taunts are well known among gamers today. From his initial pronouncement of living after being constructed out of crystals, to the even more threatening, “Beware, coward! I hunger! Run, coward,” it’s impossible to hear that deep, guttural voice without shuddering. This villain is a personal favorite of mine, as I have many memories of sliding into the cockpit-style arcade cabinet and tensing at the first sound of his voice.

#16: Goro: Count the hands!

Mortal Kombat is most famous for its gruesome finishing moves, including one that rips the spine out of your enemy’s back. Controversy over the game sparked the establishment of the Entertainment Software Rating Board in 1994. I knew at least one of these villains had to show up on our list, but which one? Eventually, I chose a guy who just has a little more meat on him. He’s about 2,000 years old, a half-dragon, and he carries the title of undefeated fighting champion for 500 years. And, oh yeah, he’s built like a tank and has four arms. His name is Goro, and he is hailed by gamers as one of the most difficult MK characters to beat. His fatalities include tearing you apart limb from limb with his four arms, and driving a dragon’s fang into your throat. Just standing in front of him is intimidating enough!

Did any of these bring back some memories? Please feel free to share. I’ll be back with five more insidious antagonists.

Top 25 Video Game Villains 1: Evil Beginnings

Posted by ssymonds - 07/19/10 at 02:07 pm

Who’s the baddest of them all? Find out one opinion here.

This and each of our next four ICHEG blogs are dedicated to those nefarious antagonists we love to hate—video game villains! For five consecutive postings we will cite five villains, leading up to the biggest baddie of all time. As with all lists of this nature, everyone has individual ideas and personal favorites. I used the following criteria when compiling the list:

• Icon status: How recognizable is the character to the general gaming public?
• Longevity:  Has this character stood the test of time?
• Power: Is this character strong? Did vanquishing him or her cause pain, anguish, and blistered thumbs?
• General villainy-coolness: Capes? Huge weapons? An evil laugh? The ability to pull off diabolical schemes at the drop of a hat? Definite pluses.

Please offer your comments, opinions, and personal memories throughout the countdown. I’d love to hear whom you would crown the most iconic video game villain of all time.

#25: Mario: A heroic villain?

I can hear your expressions of shock right now—isn’t this a list of villains? What’s one of the most iconic video game heroes doing here? That’s precisely why he’s on our list! The hero/villain classification all depends on your point of view. In Donkey Kong, Jr., the game is played from the perspective of—you guessed it —DK, Jr. In this persona your task is to rescue your father from the evil clutches of Mario. Considering that Mario is so entrenched in video game history as a hero, it’s good to remember that our fearless plumber had a brief villainous stint at the beginning of his career.

#24: Carmen Sandiego: The world is her playground!

She’s ruthless. She’s cunning. She’s a former ace detective turned V.I.L.E. You’d think she’d be easy to spot in her trademark blood-red trench coat and fedora, but instead she leads you on a merry game of tag across the globe. She’s Carmen Sandiego, and she requires skill and tenacity to vanquish. Without a decent grasp of history and geography, you’ll be stuck at square one! Carmen makes this list not only for being the world’s greatest thief, but also because she gave a memorable face to the world of children’s educational games. Even the most tedious school assignment becomes fun when it tests your ability to catch a spy.

#23: The Covenant: “Your destruction is the will of the gods.”

Microsoft’s current flagship video game series Halo produced a large number of awesome villains, but it’s almost impossible to discuss the series without talking about the Covenant, a race of aliens united under a strict theocratic oligarchy. Convinced that humanity is an abomination in the eyes of their gods, the members of the Covenant begin a genocidal campaign to wipe out every last human in existence. They have no qualms about waging war against any society they choose, especially if the war aids them in recovering sacred artifacts from their gods, the Forerunners. We can also blame the Covenant for re-releasing the Flood, a group of parasitic organisms that almost destroyed all life throughout the galaxy 100,000 years ago. Oh, but that was an accident, so it shouldn’t count, right? Whoops.

#22: Cats: What about our base?

I’ll be honest. Before writing this list, I’d never heard of the game Zero Wing or the evil mastermind Cats. But I did know about a game made famous by its atrocious English translation, and I certainly knew about its greatest gift to gaming culture—the phrase, “All your base are [sic] belong to us.” There is some debate among gamers on whether “Cats” even refers to the character who uttered the phrase, or if it’s an organization he leads. None of that actually matters. The point is: without this character we would have lost many years of internet jokes, homemade t-shirts, and hundreds of in-game jokes. Mr. Cyborg, I salute you!

#21: Diablo: The name says it all!

It’s no surprise that a character whose name literally means “Devil” deserves a place on our list. Many of us have brains hard-wired to fear big red guys with horns and cloven hooves, and this character is no different. Diablo is even nicknamed the Lord of Terror in the game. The basic plot of the game Diablo—well-known for being one of the best examples of the action-RPG genre—is a classic battle between the Angels of Heaven and the Demons of Hell, with local mortals getting caught in between the two armies. While this may not be a very original plot device, the need to defeat an avatar of Evil is so easily understood by all of us that it’s perfectly fine if Diablo himself doesn’t have much of a personality. Just being a big red demon is sufficient to make this list.

Stay tuned for our next five villains!

Traditional Influences on Digital Media

Posted by Eric Wheeler - 07/09/10 at 11:07 am

As a fan of the hit television series Man vs. Wild on Discovery Channel, I was thrilled by my chance encounter with the show’s celebrity adventurer Bear Grylls at E3. On screen, Bear inevitably finds himself in harrowing situations that test his expert survival skills. Publisher Crave Entertainment is betting gamers will want to walk in Bear’s shoes in their upcoming video game adaptation of the show. From Bear, to Wonder Woman, to Mickey Mouse, countless faces from other media showed up in games demonstrated at the Expo this year.Whether walking the show floor at E3 or browsing the seemingly endless collection of game titles housed in the ICHEG Game Lab, one thing is clear— I find a deep connection between electronic games and other media. Video games reflect the culture in which they are produced. Designers often draw from television, cinema, comics, and literature to create video game characters and settings.

The trend towards this confluence of traditional and digital media began during the early stages of the electronic game industry in the 1970s, as game designers increasingly sought to capitalize on the familiarity of pop culture characters as diverse as Superman and Big Bird. The library of titles available for the Atari 2600 game console alone illustrate this point; game cartridges often found sitting alongside this classic system sported titles such as M*A*S*H*, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spider-Man, and Berenstain Bears.

ICHEG’s collections reflect the broad influence that authors and screenwriters have exerted on the video game industry. The immense success of Tom Clancy’s novel Red Storm Rising spawned the submarine simulation game of the same title. A long line of games bearing Clancy’s name and drawing upon his work followed, including the hit Rainbow Six series. Arnold Schwarzenegger “came back” in the arcade game Terminator 2: Judgment Day and also in the console version, T2: The Arcade Game, both of which provide the opportunity to play a T-800 model Terminator from a first-person perspective.  In 24: The Game, Jack Bauer saves the world from certain doom—with our help, of course. And Captain America battles the nefarious Red Skull in Captain America and the Avengers, one of the many titles that bear witness to the enduring popularity of comic super heroes. Indeed, many traditional media characters have made the jump to the digital world, yet this media crossover is far from a one way street.

As the game industry evolved, iconic characters from the digital world began making their way into the realm of traditional media. Pokémon, the hit title for Nintendo’s Game Boy line of handhelds, quickly spread into numerous other media, most notably anime and manga. The game series Tomb Raider hosts Laura Croft, who spawned several blockbuster motion pictures, comic books, and novels. Recently, the film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, based on the Prince of Persia game franchise, hit theaters nationwide. Moving forward, the number of characters from the digital world transitioning into traditional media will, no doubt, continue to rise as authors, comic book writers, and screenwriters seek to provide readers and viewers with storylines based on interesting characters they identify with. 

Are there video games characters you believe would make good traditional media characters or vice versa? I would personally love to see bounty hunter Samus Aran hit the big screen in a movie version of Metroid.

Three Themes of E3

Posted by Jon-Paul C. Dyson - 06/25/10 at 04:06 pm

Between individual meetings about our work here at ICHEG, I grabbed an opportunity to wander the E3 conference floor in LA. After interacting with the various displays, I concluded that this year’s E3 encompassed three themes:

1) What’s Old is New Again—Given ICHEG’s mission, I happily noted old video game titles and characters finding new audiences in fresh games. Square Enix showed off Space Invaders Infinity Gene, a high-energy sequel to the classic game and a blast to play! Namco Bandai introduced Pac-Man Party for the Wii. Later, at the company’s evening celebration for Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary, I participated in a fun, four-player, cocktail-style arcade game, Pac-Man Battle Royale, due out in September. I also sampled a Bejeweled-like Pac-Man matching game for the iPad, which you can find in flash version here.  And finally, Disney’s Tron Evolution proved exciting—as a middle school student, I geeked out over the original Tron. And since we have both the Tron and Discs of Tron arcade games in our ICHEG collections, I couldn’t help but snap this photo of the light cycle at the Disney booth.

2) Active Play—Given recent trends in video game news, it’s not surprising that highly-active systems and games dominated the show. Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s Move appeared often, and their capabilities look impressive. Here’s an iPhone photo I took of George Lopez showing off his moves at Harmonix’s Dance Central booth.

3) The 3-D Killer App—I must admit, I’ve been skeptical about 3-D. At first, I thought this was a result of my not being an early adapter of technology—perhaps that’s why I’m an historian, not a futurist!  However, I’ve been wondering how many people will plunk down money for 3-D televisions, after they recently purchased new high-definition sets. More importantly, I’ve always been wary of any technology that requires special glasses. Sure, they’re okay to wear in a movie theater where everything is dark and we are essentially having an individual experience (even if we’re with others), but I believe the best games have a social component.

I first learned this many years ago when playing Nintendo’s Virtual Boy. With your face plastered to the viewing area of the Virtual Boy, you lose contact with the people around you. Although the 3-D glasses are less cumbersome than the headpiece for Virtual Boy, the frames still limit your ability to interact with the people next to you. Nintendo’s new 3DS, however, offers a 3-D experience without isolating you from others nearby. The competition from the iPhone and other smart phones caused me some reservations about the future of DS, but the 3DS assures me that there’s still plenty of life in the old system.

So of these three trends—revival of old characters, new movement-based controls, or 3-D systems—which do you think will have the most success in the coming years?

On the Road with Video Games

Posted by ssymonds - 06/18/10 at 11:06 am

Last week, my husband and I took a road trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Our drive took us through parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and over the course of our six and a half hour drive, we visited many of the convenient highway stops along the way. While stretching our legs at these rest stops, I happily discovered that the vast majority contained small video game arcades!

In general, I found all these arcade games easy to understand and quick to play. Nearly all these arcades contained simple shooting games, such as Big Buck Hunter and occasionally a retro-style multi-directional shooter like Asteroids. In addition, themed pinball machines populated the game floors, especially those based on movies like The Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones. Some of these arcades focused heavily on children’s games. I saw compilations of carnival-style games in several different rest stops including a ring toss and shooting gallery. Other arcades tended more toward adult tastes and contained video poker and slot machines. All of these game genres made perfect sense to me, but there was one type I didn’t expect to see at all, and it appeared in almost every single arcade I visited: racing games.

Because these arcades are located in rest areas designed solely for the purpose of accommodating traveler’s needs, I was surprised when I noticed that the first arcade possessed a driving game. I assumed that everyone making a pit-stop would have had enough of cars—this must be a fluke! But then the next rest stop had a racing game. And then the next, and the next, and so on. I’m not talking about stand-up racing games like Pole Position, either. At least these provide the player with an opportunity to stretch his or her legs. No, these were all of the sit-down variety, and sometimes they even contained two seats so players could race against one another. Not only were these racing games the most prevalent style, they were also the ones most often being used.   As we continued our trip, I expressed my incredulity to my husband. Why would anyone want to exit their car for a break, only to sit right back down again and keep driving? Here one might assume that children, perhaps eager to imitate their parental drivers, were playing these games; however, I can guarantee I saw more adults at the wheel.

Now don’t get me wrong—I love racing games! Some of my earliest memories include playing “crash ‘em up cars,” which is the nickname my mother gave Pole Position because as a child I crashed during the course of the game more than I actually drove. Under normal circumstances, I’ll head for a racing game the minute I enter an arcade. But I still can’t understand why road travelers consciously choose to continue driving while on break. Perhaps the escapism provided by racing a fantasy car down a complex track provides a measure of relaxation for both passengers and drivers, or maybe everyone just had driving on their brains. Either way, my mind is still reeling.

Do you have any memories of gaming on the road? Or perhaps you were of an age when handheld gaming systems were all the rage, and you packed one of them to play in the car, instead of relying on road-side stops. Please share your stories of how gaming has eased your past traveling experiences. And if anyone has some insight on why driving games are so popular in arcades clearly meant for travelers, I’d love to be enlightened!

CHEGheads Going to Gaming Paradise . . . E3

Posted by Eric Wheeler - 06/11/10 at 03:06 pm

The CHEGheads are headed to E3 Expo 2010. Both a trade show and a celebration of gaming, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is one of the most talked about industry events of the year. With the opening only a few days away, the E3 excitement is building on the blogosphere as gamers anxiously await news on “what’s next” in the gaming world.

Alternate interfaces for gaming consoles will garner considerable attention. Microsoft’s world premiere for the motion-sensing, “controller-free” Project Natal is scheduled for the Expo, and  3-D technologies will have their place in the sun with Nintendo showing off the next iteration of the highly successful DS line—the 3DS handheld gaming system. There is also some speculation that Sony will debut the next version of the PSP. We’ll see. As always, a host of new jaw-dropping game titles will make initial appearances too.

Complementing the Expo, a number of other game-related events take place throughout the city. I’m excited about seeing Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall’s Video Games Live and attending the EA Sports Strikeforce Live mixed martial arts event, both at the Nokia Theater.  

We hope to bump into you at E3 and if you are interested in following the CHEGheads adventures, check out our E3 news on Twitter. Plus, we will share post-E3 reactions once we’re back home.

Meanwhile, what product releases are you excited about from E3 this year?

A Generous Gift of Video Game Guides

Posted by Jon-Paul C. Dyson - 06/07/10 at 09:06 am

Ever been stuck in a game? You’re not alone. Back in the 1980s, when I was cutting my gaming teeth, I remember being stymied by Colossal Cave Adventure. I was playing the Osborne Computer version, written by Mike Goetz I believe, and to win the game you had to amass 580 points by solving a series of puzzles and challenges to acquire all the treasure. I had figured out almost all the problems in the game but couldn’t complete it. At last a friend told me I could teleport from room to room with the secret word, XYZZY. Rushing home, I entered the code, it worked, and I went on to finish the game.

Without my friend’s help, I never would have solved Colossal Cave Adventure. At the time, a few advice books on how to beat popular titles like Pac-Man existed, and some game publishers even provided hint books, but, in general, friends furnished the only reliable source of help. Game magazines, such as Nintendo Power, eventually began providing advice on playing selected titles, but the ultimate resource for players—detailed game guides—didn’t emerge until the 1990s.

Game guides have proved popular for many reasons. They whet readers’ appetites for the games with abundant screen shots, offer clear solutions to seemingly insoluble problems, and reveal secrets that players would never discover otherwise. In the process, the guides document both the games themselves and gamer culture in writing and visually. They also last longer than purely digital media. For all these reasons, it is vital to preserve them.

That’s why we are so pleased that Prima Games, the largest publisher of game guides, donated more than 1,000 guides to the ICHEG collections. From Madden NFL to Might and Magic to Mortal Kombat to Myst, the guides in the Prima Games Collection are treasure stores of information on the contents and challenges of the games they cover. They will be as useful to researchers in the future as they have been to players in the past and present. It’s a fabulous gift for posterity.

Thank you, Prima Games!

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