CHEGheads Blog

It’s How You Play the Video Game

Posted by ssymonds - 05/28/10 at 03:05 pm

How many times have you thrown a fit when you lost a game? And in turn, how many times did a friend or relative remind you that it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that matters? In today’s electronic gaming world, manufacturers are emphasizing this point in new ways. For many gamers, it’s no longer about winning or losing, it’s literally all about how you play.

Ever since Nintendo first marketed the trademark orange-and-gray Zapper gun with the game Duck Hunt, we have wanted more personal control over our games. It isn’t enough to push a button on a standard controller to send out a barrage of fire toward an enemy. We want to pull the trigger! In old arcade racing games like Pole Position, we used a steering wheel to swerve around other cars, and soon we demanded the same luxury for our  home consoles. Today, modern console manufacturers produce Fight Sticks, which replicate entire arcade control panels, complete with joysticks and oversized buttons. These controllers, often as big as the entire console they support, are especially popular for fighting games, because winning moves generally require complex button combinations that are much easier to reproduce on an oversized game pad. Some controllers function only with individual games. For example, when playing the popular Japanese simulation game 電車でGO!,  (Densha de GO! or Go by Train!), you can select from any of its three special controllers. My favorite of these replicates the handles and levers found on real electronic trains.

In any discussion about unique game play today, it’s impossible to avoid mentioning the Wii. The revolutionary Wiimote takes everyday gaming to a higher level with its motion-sensitive interface. What makes the Wiimote especially fun to use is its line of special game accessories. If you want to play tennis, you just slide the Wiimote into a plastic tennis racket and swing back and forth just like on the court. The same holds true for baseball bats, golf clubs, boxing mitts, and pistols. Are you playing a Jedi Knight from Star Wars? Insert your Wiimote into a special lightsaber and viola–you’re dueling like a real Jedi! Some modern video-game controllers are disguised so well you don’t even recognize them as controllers. When playing Guitar Hero, do you think of the guitar as a controller or even a video-game interface? I’m betting you simply call it a guitar. The same is true of games like Dance, Dance Revolution, where the dance pad serves as a glorified controller. When I see museum guests moving to the beat of the music on the DDR machine we have on display, I doubt they’re thinking of it as anything other than a dance floor.

This is an exciting time to be a gamer. As game designer Don Daglow discussed in a recent lecture here at ICHEG’s home, both Microsoft and Sony are poised to add their own motion-sensitive controllers to the market, with Project Natal for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Move for the PS3. These controllers will challenge the current supremacy of the Nintendo Wii in the gaming market, and who knows what the future will bring for additional accessories and add-ons.

As we move forward into the next generation of console controllers, remember, it’s not always winning or losing that counts, or even what games you choose to play. For many of us, it’s all about how we choose to play them.

Haute Couture Popping Up in Video Games

Posted by mparnett - 05/20/10 at 02:05 pm

Coco Chanel said, “fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” I share Chanel’s sentiments. During the Roaring Twenties, women abandoned corsets and opted for bust-less, waist-less, knee-length dresses. Post-war culture of the 1940s embraced tiny waists, full skirts, and for that matter, full breasts. Punk culture in 1970s London responded to the economic crisis by filling the fashion scene with ripped t-shirts, Doc Martens, and chains. Lately, we have witnessed the return of 1950s polka-dots, 1980s spandex, and 1990s rocker-chic red lipstick and safety pins. However, one new trend remains unique—video-game inspired haute couture.

From cereal boxes to television, companies constantly seek innovative ways to market their products. The Italian design firm Diesel is one of the first companies to market their garments in video games. The protagonists of Capcom’s Devil May Cry, Dante and Lucia, both wear custom-made Diesel outfits.

In Second Life, cosmetic and apparel companies such as Reebok, Aveda, American Apparel, Union Bay, and Addias sell their goods in the games’ virtual stores. Second Life’s game preview shows a tall, curvaceous woman in a red leather jacket and boot-cut jeans entering a store. Her face lights up as she models a skimpy purple number, militia attire, and a velvet ball gown. The fundamental appeal of fashion is similar to video games—both are highly interactive and often provide instant gratification. After seeing the preview, I couldn’t resist some impulse shopping myself. Since my weekend wear typically includes leggings, scarves, and long sweaters, I opted to avoid dressing my avatar in the game’s “Street Clothing” and instead selected the gothic number described as “Haute Couture.” With untold numbers of creators—game players and professional designers—fabricating clothes on Second Life, we get to play dress-up with styles from around the globe directly from our home computers.

Fashion designers recognize the aesthetic and emotional appeal established between clothing and video games. During the 2008 London Fashion Week, Giles Deacon (British fashion designer for clients such as Princess Beatrice, Drew Berrymore, Scarlett Johansson, and Gwen Stefani) presented a futuristic collection based on the 1980s arcade game Pac-Man. Runway models wore oversized helmets in the shape of the character.

Examples of fashion labels incorporating video game logos and designs are increasingly popping up. In 2001, designer Masaaki Enami persuaded Nintendo Ltd. to permit him to produce original Nintendo shirts under the label King of Games. His Kyoto-based design team, EDIT MODE, achieved much success—Shigeru Miyamato (designer of Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, and many other hits) himself has been spotted in K.O.G. shirts. Joystick Junkies is another fashion label inspired by video games and digital culture. At the label’s 2000 launch party, guests played 30 available arcade machines and attendees celebrated t-shirt titles such as “Chasing Ghosts,” “Atari Confetti,” and “Blue Invader.”

Some companies take fashion and video games to an extremely interactive level. In 2008, EA hosted a project runway contest on TheSims2.com Exchange. Participants submitted original outfits created with the help of The Sims 2 Body Shop, and a panel of Swedish H&M designers selected the winner. Beau Fornillos uploaded a nautical-inspired creation to the online runway, and shortly after, H&M stores worldwide were selling his winning design. In an Electronic Arts press release, Steve Seabolt, VP of Global Brand Development said, “Marrying a fashion forward company with a game and community recognized around the world for their user-generated content will allow people to reflect their personalities and express their creativity.” Here at ICHEG, we have artifacts that illustrate this relationship, including collage-style poster boards created by teenage girls in conjunction with the Tech Savvy Girls program established by the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The board demonstrates how to “design cool clothes for the Sims 2”.

As long as Dolce & Gabbana continue to make Mario tees, and designers like Karl Lagerfeld make cameos in games like Grand Theft Auto, Chanel’s philosophy will continue to thrive. Next time you get ready for the day or play a video game, think about why you select a particular costume.

Video Game Sing Along, Anyone?

Posted by mparnett - 05/14/10 at 01:05 pm

It’s only natural that ICHEG be located in Rochester, a city with universities and colleges that attract students and academics from across the globe. One evening, while reminiscing with a few of them about childhood memories, a student from Portugal recalled the numerous occasions when he skipped religious studies to go to the arcade with change his mother had given him for an after-school snack. He would slip the coins into the slot of the Contra arcade game like he was feeding it communion. He loved the way the mechanical, fast-paced sounds burst from the screen. His recollection inspired a Turkish student among us to hum Koji Kondo’s 1985 Super Mario Bros.’ musical score and smile. Despite our cultural differences, we shared a love of video-game music.

Before the mid to late 1980s, hardware and software limitations made it difficult to incorporate memorable music into video games. But by 1986, gamers could purchase Koichi Sugiyama’s Live CD of compositions performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Square Enix’s game, Dragon Quest. Today, publishers of video games are releasing their most popular soundtracks in United Kingdom and America too. Takeharu Ishimoto’s soundtrack to The World Ends with You is an excellent example.

Takeharu Ishimoto combined rock, hip hop, electronic, and vocals to illustrate life in a Tokyo shopping district, and the album’s popularity earned the soundtrack a nomination for the Best Original Score for a Nintendo DS game. Nearly a year after a Japanese iTunes version of the album appeared in 2007, fans could buy it internationally—though it omitted four tracks unique to the original.

Today, video-game-music composers in one country are often influenced by the work of composers in others.  Final Fantasy’s lead composer, Nobuo Uematsu, says he finds inspiration in the instruments used by Elton John. Radiohead and Franz Ferdinand— both bands from the United Kingdom—contributed music to the soundtrack for FIFA Football 2004. And gamers and non-gamers alike are humming Norway’s Datarock. The band is recognized world-wide for its song “Fa-Fa-Fa,” which is featured on the fourth-generation iPod Nano commercial, as well as on NHL 08, FIFA 08, NBA Live 08, and the iPhone/iPod Touch game Tap, Tap Revenge 3. Plus, The Sims’ video team has created an exclusive video for the hit song. In an interview with Popchix, the band said EA’s record label, Artwerk, “is unbelievably good to us, and they certainly made us available for vast numbers of listeners.” This unique relationship is yet another example of the international impact of video games—artists of various backgrounds collaborating through a common artistic medium.

American rockers from Washington State to Tennessee are composing outstanding video game songs too. A personal favorite of mine is Trent Reznor’s adrenaline-pumping music produced for id Software’s 1996 first-person shooter, Quake. I also like the aggressive beats of FIFA Football 2004’s lead track, Kings of Leon’s “Red Morning Light.” The sci-fi nerds in my life were psyched to discover Bear McCready, the composer well-renowned for his work on Battlestar Galactica, composed the soundtrack for Capcom’s 2010 game Dark Void. And I suspect that many of you—like my CHEGhead friends Jon-Paul Dyson and Eric Wheeler—have enjoyed ICHEG advisor Tommy Tallarico’s Video Games Live concerts in Western New York and around the globe.

Next time “Smooth Criminal” is played at your local bar, try to find out if the person next to you is reminiscing about popping to the beats or remembering what it is like to flip off their hats and beat the suit-wearing Mobster’s of Sega’s 1990 game Moonwalker. I’m sure no matter who you end up talking with or where they are from, you will find a common video-game-music memory.

Who is Your Sailor Moon?

Posted by ssymonds - 05/07/10 at 11:05 am

One of the most frequent questions I receive as a gamer is, “What kinds of games do you enjoy playing?” This question seems simplistic, but the answer is definitely not. I’ve given several different ones over the years, ranging from specific examples, such as Mario Bros., to broad genres, like puzzle games. As I get older, I realize my absolute favorite games are those that represent a connection to my personal life, especially games that take me back to a part of my past.

When I was in high school, every day for over a year, I sat down in front of my television at 4 p.m., tuned into Cartoon Network, and heard a deep voice intone, “This one’s going out to all the ladies!” It signaled the beginning of Toonami, a two-hour segment of anime television, and the first show in line—Sailor Moon—is still a favorite. My love for it developed faster than I could ever have predicted. The characters’ steely resolve to protect the world from evil and joyful personalities endeared them to me. I set out to learn all I could about the show and immerse myself in all its forms. I soon found that the series spawned several video games, but I never got lucky enough to play any, as most of the titles were released only in Japan. But now, thanks to ICHEG, I’m lucky enough to play some of those Sailor Moon games for the first time.

One of our newest acquisitions is a basic fighting game released for the Super Famicom in 1994, entitled 美少女戦士セーラームーンS: 場外乱闘? 主役争奪戦!(Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon: Outside Scuffle? The Competition for a Leader!) In this game, various Sailor Soldiers engage in Street Fighter-style brawls and try to become the new leaders of the Sailor Team. The second game included in the acquisition is a blindingly pink dedicated handheld called 美少女戦士セーラームーンS:  決める! ハートアタック(Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon S: Decide! Heart Attack). Bandai released this game in 1994, and it pits Sailor Moon against enemies, such as Kaolinite and her fellow Dust Busters, from the anime’s third season.

Both of these games are extremely easy to play, even for a casual gamer like myself. And since they’re both fighting games, they don’t fit into my favorite game genres. But none of that matters to me when compared with the opportunity to immerse myself in a world filled with familiar characters. The ability of games like this to take me back to such a wonderful era of my childhood is much more important than the game mechanics or genre. It also thrills me to know the story of Sailor Moon itself proved popular enough to span so many mediums, including video games!

Do you have any games that take you back to your childhood or adolescence?  Please share your stories! I promise I’ll be back to read them … after I finish dusting a group of Sailor Moon villains!

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