Smite, Mythology, and Now

Do I play too much Smite? I probably do. Hi-Rez's mythological MOBA eats up a surprising amount of my free time alongside Overwatch. I could talk about the balancing, the community, the camera, so much, but today I wanna go after a different topic. I want to talk about the core the game is founded on: the mythology.

It's what pulled me into the game in the first place, as I am a huge mythology nerd. I don't obsessively look over it or study it, but place a story about the Norse or Japanese pantheon in front of me and I will voraciously devour it. The way the different characters have been portrayed across cultures, however, is what really, really catches my eye. And if you head over to any community site, the original lore and how the deities are portrayed is a topic of constant discussion.

For my money, it's a fascinating process to watch, and how each god gets portrayed in game is always a fun treat every time a new one is added. That said, I want to take a closer look at how the stories of old get dragged into the modern era. I like to split this into 3 categories: the myths, the modern era, and the game.

The Myths

AKA the source. The original stories. Whatever you call them, they're what this entire game is based off of, and as such play the largest role in how a god is chosen and designed. I'll use Amaterasu as an example, as her myths provide an extremely clear inspiration for how she plays. Her passive illuminates enemies, as she is the goddess of the sun. Her abilities involve her sword, as a dash and powerful ult, and her mirror, as a ranged attack. These are based off of the 3 sacred treasures she had in the myths. So as you can see, pretty clear basis for her kit in game.

As well, the myths influence how gods are classified as well. Loki, as another example, is a trickster and loves playing pranks and causing mayhem. Fittingly, he is classified as an assassin, a class known for mobility and damage, not defence.

I'd also point out that mythology could very well influence what gods get added, but that really doesn't seem to be the case with Hi-Rez. They have multiple gods of the sun and gods of thunder, each of which are very unique. They even made a god out of Ah Muzen Cab, a god so little is known about, all that comes up if you google it right now is “He was a god of bees... probably”.

But, inevitably, the gods of old come clashing up against the modern era, and that's where this gets really interesting.

The Now

Now this is where this gets really, really interesting. The stories from potentially thousands of years ago are of course not going to totally work now, and many interesting changes had to be made. As what is my absolute favourite example of this, take Xing Tian. He is a deity who represents a spirit that never surrenders, even after his head was cut off. This is how he was portrayed:

Yeah, no way in hell that would work nowadays. It's too basic and unappealing to our modern eyes. So they updated him like so:

They kept the base there (headless with a face on his chest and an axe) and made it a lot more appealing to our designs nowadays. It's a great and simple way to show how updating gods helps them fit in.

As well as that, sometimes gods simply have to be changed because a part of their original lore would not be allowed now. Many gods (Aphrodite, Terra, ect.) were usually portrayed as completely nude, something of course not allowed in society now. And sometimes they have to change gods to fit the art style. 2 examples I like are are Ymir and Ravana. Ymir was just a really big dude, not really fitting with Smite's cartoonish and unreal style. And Ravana had 10 heads and arms, something likely impossible to style right, so they themed him around it.

And then there's China.

Ok, so for those who have no idea what I mean, Smite was also released in China. And their culture is... different, to say the least. What this did was force the devs to redesign a god or 2 to be less accurate in order to be acceptable in the Chinese market.

Take Hades and Kali as prime examples. Both used to feature heavy use of bones and skulls. Hades was a bit questionable, but Kali's design was basically 100% accurate to her depictions in Hindu culture. However, bones and skulls are a big, BIG no-no in Chinese culture, and in order to make sure the game would be acceptable there, they had to make some changes to their design. So they removed the bone themes and just made them more acceptable to the new market.

Before....

...And after.

What I find fascinating is how Hi-Rez try to be lore accurate up until they really can't much of the time. The god can be accurate as long as it's appealing now, possible in today's culture, would fit with the game's artstyle, would be appropriate for all markets, ect. There are a lot of caveats that have to be made, as you can see.

The Game

And the most important caveat often made is the actual game. They're making a MOBA, after all, one of the most complex genres out there. And lore accuracy is fantastic until it makes the game worse.

Again, some designs will have to be changed because of limitations in technology. Again, Ravana with 10 arms and legs likely would be a nightmare to program, and Vamana could not grow to the sizes he does in the stories because he'd be bigger than the arena. Often the best way they get around stuff like this is themeing moves around them. Using Ravana and Vamana again, Ravana can gain a shield of 9 heads around him, and Vamana can grow larger than any god, but not to astronomical proportions.

They also have to pick and choose what gods can actually be added to the game, or more accurately, what a new god would add to the game. You can totally have multiple thunder gods, but you've gotta make sure they're unique. Raijin is a good addition because his drum themeing sets him apart from Zeus and Thor quite well. And the more interesting, the better. Jing Wei is themed around flight, so they gave her a passive that lets her fly and a mobility based kit to go with it. It's really unique and fun.

And beyond all that, changing gods to be more fun is often a good choice. Sure, the Kraken was never in any Greek myths and Poseidon having it as an ultimate is horribly lore inaccurate, but shouting “RELEASE THE KRAKEN” is such a fun move to pull off.

Yes, I know this is a wildly out of date screenshot.

So that's a small look at what one game has to take into account when adapting source material. If you list it all out it's quite daunting. They have to look at the original, when it was made, the reasons behind it, modern standards, modern art/style, how they need to adapt it, the tone/style of the new work, how it will fit in, what needs to be changed to fit, if the work even needs it, and so on and so forth. I used Smite as an example because I play it a lot, but this really applies to any adaptation of anything. If you've got any games that adapt other source material you like, go at it in the comments! I'd love to see more examples of this. And as always, thank you for reading. Have a lovely day.

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Congrats, Blizzard. You played yourself.

Play of the game is bad for Overwatch.

Which sucks. It's a fun feature I'm surprised hasn't been thought of before, and it's a brilliant idea. In a void where player emotions and goals are all perfectly aligned. See, what I think Blizzard hasn't realized is that POTG does not exist in a vaccum. If players were robots only concerned with victory, it'd work perfectly. That's not how we think, alas, and it's created a system that actively hampers the overall skill level of the game and makes everyone play worse.

It weakens certain characters

Look, POTG is so inherently biased towards characters who deal damage it's not even funny. The supports and anyone else who doesn't have a high damage ult are very, very unlikely to obtain a POTG compared to the rate a Reaper or D.Va will get them. And because POTG is a fun and enjoyable thing to get, people will naturally want to, well, get them. So it pushes them towards offensive characters and making supports an even rarer sight. It's not exactly grade A design when a mechanic limits team comp in a game revolving around diverse team comp.

These poor, poor souls.

It's a bastion of individuality

Overwatch is a team game. Every single part of it hammers it into you how you need to work together, counter the enemy, and achieve dominance as a team.

POTG ignores all that and gleefully hoists one player above all. OK, OK, that's not really what it's meant for. It's meant to encourage congrats and highlight great play, something I'm all for. However, it's been twisted into showing how awesome one person is, and that fosters competition where there needs to be none. Anything that could potentially create something like this isn't good. And it's not potential. I've seen people rage in chat about how they didn't get POTG and seen people gloat rather unsportsmanlike about it. It's not creating those congratulations, that's for sure.

Group? What group?

POTG focuses on one player. That's fine. I bet you anything Blizzard struggled like hell to even implement it, and the fact that it's even in the game impresses me. It would likely be nigh impossible to get it off that one person because of technological limits.

But that's not good enough, and I feel that POTG right now simply can't tell the full story. Take Zarya. Poor, poor Zarya. Her ult sucks all enemies into a single point. This is an excellent moment for allies to unleash their firepower/their own ults. I think we can all agree that plays like that were made possible in 2 parts, a supporting start and an offensive move. It's only the character who goes on the offensive that gets the POTG, however, and completely ignores the set up. It's just too individual, again, and ignores the group.

Gameplay is King

You could ignore all my other points. I could literally write this with only this point and I'd still consider POTG a big issue that just needs fixing.

POTG makes everyone play worse. POTG makes people work together less. POTG hinders the overall skill growth of Overwatch as a whole.

I'll keep it quick and simple. What POTG does is, well, make you want to earn it. Everyone wants their skills shown to all in the match. It's fun. But the fact that it's a prestigious achievement makes it a goal for many, and will affect how they play. Sure, using your ult as Reaper to take out just the enemy healer, breaking their line and forcing the team back as a whole is a valuable contribution to the game. But it will not ever earn you a POTG. So, y'know. Why do that, when you could save it to kill 4 enemies at once at a point when it wouldn't matter? You'd get POTG! It'd be all good!

Look, you may say it doesn't affect you. But I know the pull, and I know how tempting it is. I myself am guilty of saving ults because subconsciously, I know it wouldn't nab POTG. I see players not popping ults when they should because of POTG. And it's not just ults. POTG runs off kills most of the time, which encourages people to run after enemies, abandon teams, and not being careful to defend the point. When a mechanic limits team comp, when a mechanic limits cooperation, when a mechanic makes people play worse,

Is that really worth keeping?

Well, uh, yes

Ok, I've talked a lot of shit about POTG. But I really, really want this system to work sooo badly. It creates and fuels water cooler moments, and is likely a large catalyst of why Overwatch is everywhere on the internet right now. So fixing it is definitely the better option. How?

1. Credit more than 1 person

This would immensely help team playing and a mindset. The video below is a great mockup, but it may not be feasable. Perhaps they could implement an “assist” function where say, if a Zarya set up a POTG or a Mercy was damage boosting the player their portrait and username could be off to the side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RlhTSuWc2I

2. Lessen the impact of ults

Look, ults are cool, fun, and powerful. And yet they don't quite fit POTG that well. There's a reason the phrase “Q of the game” is used rather derisively. Ults are too low effort to get POTG's with, and I think the best way is to simply lessen how heavily the game weighs ultimate kills compared to ordinary kills.

3. Help the supports

Supports struggle to get POTG, and as a result that pushes players away from them. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this, but it may have to be integrated into the “assist” feature I proposed earlier. They could also just add some mechanics to help them. For example, when Lucio ults, if an enemy would deal mortal damage if not for the shield, it could count as an “ally saved”. That'd help Lucio get POTG more often.

So, yeah. POTG is something I feel could be so much more, because it's a great feature. In theory. And I want that caveat gone.

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Did You Really Beat Zero Escape?

MASSIVE ZERO ESCAPE SPOILERS AHEAD

How many video games have you beaten? Quite a few, if you're an avid gamer. Of course, not every game is beatable, multiplayer games have no endstate and games like The Sims just keep going. But for the most part, games are there to be beat. Defeated. Conquered by you, the player.

But what if you didn't? What if, despite reaching the endstate, you didn't really “beat” the game? And I'm not talking story failures, where you fail in the story at the end of the game but you beat all the levels. No. I mean you achieved the best ending, did everything right... but in no way are you really able to celebrate your achievement.

This is where Zero Escape comes in. With the release of the latest game, Zero Time Dilemma, it really reminded me just how damn good the writing and plot of the series is. Not only that, it wove the gameplay and story together that even after I beat it, I felt no true satisfaction because of what my victory meant.

But first, let's cover our bases. For those of you who don't remember the plot that well (You HAVE played it, right?) what I'm talking about here is specifically the timeline hopping, given the name of SHIFTing in Zero Time Dilemma. Jumping between timelines is integral to the story and gameplay. It's a nice way to go about the multiple paths in games and how it usually doesn't make much sense. But what's really interesting here is pertinent info revealed in ZTD.

SHIFTing is not just a simple jump. It's more consciousness swapping. The “you” from the other timeline is yanked into your own, while you go to the other timeline. Oh, and you can only SHIFT when you're about to die. Moral dilemma, anyone?

But seriously, I want to point out just how gosh dang amazing this is as a plot point. The usual game element of alt endings is given a horrifying tinge to it that will make you regret what you've done. This is where the entire point of this article comes back in.

In order to “beat” the game, you have to fail an immeasurable amount of times in other timelines. You have to actively murder other versions of yourself to save the world in a single timeline. You achieve victory in a single, solitary timeline, dwarfed by the millions of others filled with tragedy and sadness.

Think about how this clashes with other games. In most games, death is framed as the player failing to accurately portray the story. Mario didn't really fall down that pit, you screwed up. The story didn't end there, you just told it wrong. Death is not a serious concept in these games, because any and all failures on your part are simply swept aside as not having truly happened.

Zero Escape does the exact opposite. Every single failure you had is completely and utterly valid. Every death, mistake, and tragedy will exist. Forever. Everything you do is in a sense, permanent due to the timelines. Just because you find your way to the best timeline doesn't mean the others cease to exist.

So, think about this. If you fail dozens of times, deaths abound, and none of it can be erased, did you really win? Did you achieve victory, or simply stumble upon the best timeline? If there are dozens of still completely valid failstates alongside one valid winstate,

Would you still say you “beat” the game?

The Best Overwatch Ults

Man, isn't Overwatch great? The hype with this one is strong, to be sure. It's not wrong, either. Overwatch is fun to watch, play, talk about, and even to write about. That in mind, my week's been mostly internet free, so I'll refrain from most of my more complex ideas about this game and do a fun list. Sound fun?

Please note that the criteria for these ults is a mix of my personal favourites and how good they actually are. I'll be taking into account how they help the team, you yourself, how coordinated your team must be, and most importantly the number of scenarios the ult is good in. And more personal stuff like how satisfying they are, how fun it is to use, and of course my personal opinions. That in mind, here we go!

This list was written as of July 17, 2016. Please note that any updates and new heroes after this point cannot be taken into account.

21. Zenyatta: Transcendance

Poor, poor Zenyatta. Considered to be basically the worst hero by many, his ult doesn't exactly help matters. Zenyatta floats up in the air and creates an area where your teammates will be healed rapidly. Zenyatta himself is invincible. Few issues here. First, Zenyatta can't do anything while in his ult besides move. That's bad, as you're down a team member. And second, it forces your team to clump together, making them easy pickings the second the ult ends. Alas, despite a good concept, this ult falls flat. Zenyatta really needs more. I feel bad for the guy.

20. Winston: Primal Rage

And here's another ult that I feel is supremely underwhelming. Winston's a good hero most of the time, and great fun to play, but his ult has a few too many shortcomings to be of much use. Winston gains health up to 1000 and goes on a rampage, only using melee attacks for the ult's duration. Issues I have with this ult are that you just can't do enough to be of much use most of the time. Your attacks don't do much damage and knock enemies out of range, meaning cliffs are your only hope of eliminating enemies. It's a good disruptor, but Winston does that well enough already, and he has less options in this ult. It requires a good team to back you up, something solo queue can lack. It's not a bad ult, per se, but it has too many annoyances for me to enjoy it more.

19. Tracer: Pulse Bomb

Wait, wait, WAIT. Put down the pitchforks, Tracer fans. Her ult is this low mainly because of how it interacts with her kit. Tracer is a backline harasser, and this ult fits well. She throws a sticky bomb out, which explodes after a short fuse. Issue is that the ult in a vaccum isn't very good. The bomb has such a short radius that it is unlikely to hit someone if you miss, and it usually only takes out one target. That said, it's not at the bottom because it does fit her kit quite well. The ability to blink in, take a single target out, and rewind away is quite useful, and the ult is a good addition to her kit. It's just not a good ult by itself.

18. Symmetra: Teleporter

This is an ult that provides great utility. In literally 1 scenario. Defending point A in capture point mode. A teleporter is useless at point B, and it's not quite as good on a moving payload. Basically, this ult is simple and tremendously useful when the time is right. Problem is, time's almost never right.

17. Roadhog: Whole Hog

The placement of this ult is really moreso based on my personal preferences here. Roadhog blasting enemies with a constant stream of shrapnel sounds cool, and yeah, it's effective, disruptive, and great at capping points. I just don't like using it much. I dunno, it's just not very satisfying to me. There's no big hit, just a lot of small ones that never feel substantial. Use this one to your heart's desire if you like. I'll stick to the ol' hook-shotgun combo.

16. D.Va: Self Destruct

Oh, D.Va. How.... meh you are. It shows in her ult as well. Blowing her mech up dealing massive damage all around can be quite effective indeed. The issue is how easily it can be avoided. All you have to do is hide behind a wall, any wall, and it is 100% negated. It is crazy easy to dodge this ult if you know what you're doing. The saving grace it has is that it will force enemies to scatter, something very helpful. But otherwise, it's very tricky to use.

15: Hanzo: Dragonstrike

"Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!" is a battlecry feared by many. And it lives up to it's name... just not how people expect. It is not an ult you just throw out and kill enemies with, contrary to popular internet knowledge. It is instead more useful as a way to force enemies out, get them off a point. It's also quite useful if you can use it stealthily, aiming from a wall the enemy doesn't expect. Regardless, this ult doesn't like up to the potential the internet says it has, but it is still quite useful indeed.

14. Lúcio: Sound Barrier

Man, I wish this ult could be higher. I absolutely love playing Lúcio, and his ult is one of the best in the game for me. In a group. Here's the issue. Lúcio giving his team around him a sheild to push or defend points with has fantastic utility, great flexibility. If my team is coordinated there is almost no scenario where I don't want Lúcio backing us up. As those of you who solo queue know, coordination online is a rare beast. Often it's next to impossible to get your team to get near you to make this it truly effective. So just know that if that wasn't an issue this ult would be much, much higher.

13: Bastion: Configuration: Tank

Ahhh, Bastion. The salt powered robot has an ult that some consider underwhelming or just not as good. Me? Oh man, this ult's fun. I could go over how vulnerable Bastion can be, how this ult runs in opposition to his playstyle, yada yada. Letting out a battlecry of Tw-tweet Tw-eeeeeeeet and storming across the battlegrounds as a motherfreaking Tank never gets old. The fun factor is high in this one, and it's sure to be an ult I'll continue enjoying for a long time.

12. McCree: Deadeye

It's High Noon........

I swear, that is the single scariest sound in Overwatch. It's the right mix of menacing, threatening, and the ult is as deadly as it sounds. This ult isn't as infallible as some will say, with it actually requiring a good amount of skill and timing to pull off effectively, and frankly I'm terrible at it. But oh man, a good McCree is terrifying if they use this ult right. Whether to just pick off a single target or to wipe a team, rest assured that if you're in the line of fire, it's all over.

11. Pharah: Barrage

Pharah's ult is an ult that once again is hard as heck to pull off. This time, however, I'm not completely terrible at using it! Pharah lays down some JUSTICE and as the name implies, barrages her enemies with rockets. This ult causes serious damage, and thanks to Pharah's incredible mobility she can hit you from almost anywhere. And that's also it's main weakness. If you use this ult in the wrong spot, you're a stationary target in midair and you're toast. I like this ult quite a bit because it's impossible to mindlessly pop off and use effectively. You have to think, wait, and strike at the right moment. A good mix of power and skill.

10: Reinhardt: Earthshatter

The German tank comes smashing into the top 10, and with good reason. This ult is simple, yet so, so effective. Reinhardt smashes his hammer down and knocks down all enemies in front of him. Those enemies are now yours to gleefully beat down on and destroy. Not much else to it. Simple, fast, effective, deadly. Now if only I could get my teammates to actually get behind my shield...

9. Torbjörn: Molten Core

Honestly, I swear Torbjörn shouting “Molten Corrrreeeee” is more effective than the actual ult itself. What this ult provides more than anything else is area control. No way enemies are gonna walk into a level 3 turret, and this lets you zone and control the paths of your foes, an often underrated aspect of competitive games. Torbjörn also powers up and becomes an effective disruptor, with a rapid fire gun and massive amounts of armor. This ult just provides so much all around utility, and is a great addition to the Swedish engineer's kit.

8. Reaper: Death Blossom

Ah, the good ol' blossom of death. Teleport in, press Q, and watch the bodies drop. Nah, it's not quite that simple. Death Blossom, if played well, is in my opinion the single best method to wipe a team completely and utterly. If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan of ults that require plenty of skill to use well. A bad Reaper will walk in and ult. A good reaper will teleport to the left, wait for enemies to clump, then jump down from a roof and ult them. That is what makes an ult interesting and fun to pull off.

7. Junkrat: RIP-Tire

Besides being an excellent pun, RIP-Tire is an ult to be feared. A rolling, lethal bomb, if you hear “FIRE IN THE HOLE” it's good cause for panic. And once again, you can't just mindlessly let it rip. It can be destroyed, so careful positioning is required. And besides all that, it's just so much fun. An effective clearer, killer, and all out powerful move to be sure.

6. Soldier 76: Tactical Visor

Aren't aimbots great? As long as it's a game mechanic. The Tactical Visor ensures every single shot you fire will find its mark, and it can be quite deadly. But often what it's more useful for is that if forces enemies to take cover lest you mow them down. It either gives you many kills OR helps your team push forward. I can't turn down an ult that useful.

5. Mei: Blizzard

Well, now Blizzard's just stroking their own ego, naming an ult after themselves. But in all seriousness, this is one of the few ults I am flat out scared of. I know that if I'm caught in it, that's basically it for me. It not only provides a great offensive tool, it can also block entrances and zone enemies out. It's probably the ult that has the most varied use in the game, and only further cements Mei's reputation as a troll of epic proportions.

4. Genji: Dragonblade

Everyone's favourite overplayed cyborg ninja comes slashing in with my favourite ult of the offensive characters. Genji drawing his dragonblade and going to town is quite a striking image, but there's more to it than mindless slashing. What makes this ult effective is that Genji still has access to his reflect and dash while using it. That means he can still defend himself and has access to great mobility. Used well, a good Genji can and will destroy with this ability. Not much else to say.

3. Zarya: Graviton Surge

My favourite tank and character comes in with my favourite tank ult. “Fire at will” is an excellent way to describe this ability, because that's exactly what one needs do. What I love most is that it works great even in a crazy disorganized team of random players. You fire it off and the team basically gets a big “SHOOT HERE” sign. Disruptive, effective, and easy teamwork. What more could you ask for?

2. Widowmaker: Infra-Sight

I have never once been in a situation where this ult is not useful to EVERYONE. A wall hack on a lower charge time that everyone gets? Yes please. Rushing the point? Pop it and make sure enemies aren't hiding. Defending? Pop it and check for flanks. Just died? Pop it, and your team gets a buff from halfway across the map. This ult is fantastic.

1. Mercy: Resurrect

No other ult could possibly get this spot. Reviving dead teammates is immensely useful, and truly what can help your team going. Completely negating everything the enemy team just threw at you is in my opinion the single best ability you could ask for. It keeps rushes, defences, flanks, alive and kicking. It keeps your team going, and momentum is the single most important thing to maintain here. Heros never die, indeed.

So, did you agree? Of course you didn't. Shout at me in the comments about how wrong I am if you'd like, and I hope you enjoyed this. Have a nice day, and thanks for reading.

Undertale and Backlash

Undertale.

I just got like double the pageviews for saying that, I'm betting. Undertale has settled into a bit of an odd place over the past few months. At first, it was of course the internet's darling, with everyone raving about it and the people who didn't care for it just not speaking up. Par for the course. It happened with Cave Story, it's currently happening with Overwatch, it's just a thing that happens in our constantly moving and sharing society.

But an odd thing has happened with Undertale. The voices who don't care for it are speaking up now. And they've been very, very vocal about it. Every single time Undertale is the focus of an article or whatever, dozens and dozens of comments pop up saying something along the lines of “Oh my god STOP TALKING ABOUT UNDERTALE”. Seriously, go to your favourite gaming site, look for the first article about Undertale, and check the comments. Go on, I'll wait.

So what the hell exactly happened? Undertale seems to be the victim of a wave of dissatisfaction. I know that I myself try to avoid bringing it up because I will inevitably get some comments like that. This didn't seem to happen with many of the games and popular stuff of yore. So... why?

Undertale's Kinda Preachy

This isn't a criticism, more a fact. It's an element that many like and many dislike, although more seem to prefer the non-preachy style. Undertale does indeed hit you over the head with the messages it's trying to convey. You WILL know what it's trying to tell you by the end, and if you don't you probably skipped all the dialogue. That spills over into the fandom.

Look, when a game has a very clear message, well that's part of the appeal for many. And everyone goes online to talk about it. And therefore annoying those who don't like that. I think the idea that the Undertale fandom is pushy as heck came from here. When you recommend a game with clear themes, you will likely mention said themes. Now imagine thousands of people telling you how amazing these themes are. You can see how this would lead to a lot of pushback. People don't like it when it feels like they're being forced to hear and agree with themes.

I think this hit critical mass this week when MatPat of Game Theory fame gave the pope Undertale. (Full disclosure, I have not seen his video on it. I have neither the time nor interest in Game Theory.) Many, many saw it as the ultimate act of pushiness, claiming that the Undertale fandom was trying to tell everyone THIS is how games should be. Many did not like that. Regardless of intent on all sides, the way Undertale is presented has indeed spilled over into the discussion around it and especially the fandom. Speaking of...

The Concept of Fandom in 2016

Anyone else think “fandom” is a dirty word now? The way it's used now is much different than even 2 years ago, and I rarely ever hear it used in a positive light. Fandom by a detached objective definition means a group of people who enjoy, talk about, and interact with a thing.

Fandom after the era of social media means a hive mind of people trying to aggressively push their stuff onto you in the worst ways possible. It's a few things that led to this. One, it's just bigger now. Of course, Twitter and Tumblr and the like have more users, which means more voices to talk, which leads to a greater annoyance from people who could not care less.

But for sure, the fandom concept as a whole has gotten a fair bit pushier recently. And beyond even that, there may be more at play.

The Culture of Extremes

I don't think it's a stretch to say that online, extreme positions, opinions, and ideas spread much faster than usual. It's easier to exclaim “I HATE THIS THING” rather than “there are things I dislike about this thing”. Extremism, in emotions, ways of speaking, just spreads easier. It's visceral, and easy to spread in a split second.

I think Undertale is a victim of this. You see, the game does have some fairly extreme ideals. The “VIOLENCE IS BAD” idea that is the most predominant is also the easiest to spread and talk about. Other things in the game, like the characters, world, humour, and bosses, people like just as much, but they're harder to talk about. Spoilers and the nature of explaining these things hamper the spread of them. Pacifism is a simple one word theme, doesn't spoil much, and is easy to explain. Combine that with the fact that it's the game's most predominant theme, and you can see how it spreads like wildfire.

And this will inevitably trigger the opposite extreme. Extremes feed off opposite extremes, and it is much much easier to respond to “I HATE THIS” with “NO YOU'RE WRONG IT'S AMAZING”. Compare that to “I like it because of these reasons” and you can see why a simple idea can kick up so much dust.

Ok, you can likely see where this is leading by now. The easiest way to get the word out about Undertale is the memorable themes, they inspire an extreme, that extreme inspires another extreme, and suddenly there's a veritable war over Undertale's high presence. And now that the hype has died down quite a bit compared to half a year ago, the people who were sick of it finally have room to speak. The hype died down might have been a good thing, however.

The Experience that is Undertale

Many have been realizing just how bad the way Undertale blew up was for the game itself. The game is at its best when you know NOTHING going in, and I mean nothing. Not even the premise. The hype kinda obliterated that. Many feel upset that large parts of the game were spoiled because of excited fans who wanted to share it with the world. A lot of that feels like it's turned into resentment and frustration, not against the game, but how people just will not stop talking about it.

Undertale in and of itself is almost a subculture at this point. There is so much to do, interact with, and talk about. It's one of those rare few games where discussion sticks around for more than a month or 2. Undertale content has been going strong for almost a year now, and only started to slow down around May this year. The sheer length of time it's been going strong is astounding. Undertale the game is barely even part of the experience anymore. Undertale the experience, in and out of the game, is what's more important. And that experience has, at its conclusion, led to some backlash.

This isn't a reflection on the quality of Undertale, the fandom, the people who are tired of it, any of that. I think it's been fascinating to watch this game's path, and in many ways an equally interesting showcase of how internet culture and games collide. If anything, this sure couldn't have happened a decade ago.

Thanks for reading. I will be gone without internet for 5 days this week, so there's gonna be a week gap between this and the next article, rather than the usual 4-5. Apologies.  

Sonic Riders: The Sequel We Need

Sonic Riders needs a sequel. It really does. There has literally never been a more perfect time for this underrated little gem of a racing series to get a proper sequel (Free Riders doesn't count, you monster).

To be fair, Sonic Riders has always had a hard time of it impressing people, and yeah, I get why. Less tracks than Mario Kart, and half of those courses being the same place as another one, fairly unbalanced gameplay, mechanics impossible to understand even after a few races, it's no wonder these games floundered. But despite all this, a sequel is seriously something this series needs. And I have a list. It's a good list, too.

A Wealth of Mechanics

The Riders series has had 2 games now (FREE RIDERS STILL DOESN'T COUNT) and both games had wildly different mechanics. Riders 1 had the air meter and boosting. You needed air to stay on your board, drift around tight corners, but most importantly, you needed it to boost. Boosting gave you a speed increase, and let you attack other racers to get ahead. You could only replenish your air at certain points, like jumps and shortcuts like flying and grinding. What all this added up to was an air meter you had to constantly manage, determining whether to boost or save your air for when you needed to to progress. If you were good enough, you could basically boost forever and always have enough air for it. It was a system that rewarded knowledge of the track and good air management skills on top of already needed racing skills.

Zero Gravity, on the other hand, changed everything up. Rather than having an air meter, you had a gravity meter that you used to activate Zero Gravity functions, like drifting corners, flying down the track, or attaching yourself to walls. This removed the management function because it was nigh impossible to run out of meter, but it made the courses more varied. Being able to ride on walls will do that.

So what does this mean? Well altogether it means that the Riders series has many, many different mechanics and styles to pull from at this point, and it'd do well to use them to their full advantage. They could mix and match the air meter and gravity meter, take ideas from one, see what went wrong in one and use those lessons, and so much more. So for example, there could be a game where you have an air and gravity meter, and you must manage both. Or you could combine them both into one meter and choose between using gravity shortcuts or boosting, that sort of stuff. The riders series has a lot to work with now, basically. Especially because...

Neither Game Hit Their Potential

As much as I enjoy these games, they both have pretty severe shortcomings that very much limit what they are able to do. Riders 1 had next to no comeback mechanics, obtuse track design, unbalanced racers/vehicles... It looked cool and had some great ideas behind it, but there was a lot wrong with it as well.

Zero Gravity on the other hand suffers from a butchered trick system, a gravity meter that almost never ran out, a flying mechanic that could only be used in one place removing any skill from it, more boring course design, weaker visuals, and more. It was very different from the original, perhaps to its detriment.

Neither game has ever had a chance to get a second go or learn, because Zero Gravity changed everything and Free Riders was... ugh. Again, this is why I think a sequel would be great. How cool would a hoverboard racing game be where you grind, fly, and bust through various courses? Yet neither of these games have had enough time to actually realize their full potential. A sequel could be the perfect fix for that.

Online

The Riders games have always had a bit of an identity crisis. They look like fun family racers that everyone can enjoy. Heck, they try to sell themselves that way. Issue is, that's wrong. Very wrong. These games in no way are fun pick up and play racers. Trust me from personal experience, the mechanics simply can't be fully grasped very quickly, absolutely killing the party experience from square one. If nobody but you sees the fun depth, well, nobody's gonna play it.

But; I have a solution. Online play could fix literally all of these issues. Sure, the games would indeed have to make some changes for this to work, but the core of the games would be perfectly suited for play like this. The nature of online play is often racing the same courses over and over again, mastering the mechanics, and testing your mettle against others. Riders, with its more complex and deep mechanics than the average mascot racer would be the prefect fit for this. No longer would you have to worry about explaining everything to your friend who's never played before. Everyone online would know what they're doing, and the races would get competitive and require much more skill. The core mechanics of Riders are simply not suited to a party setting, which is totally fine. They just need to drop the typical mascot racer mindset.

Take the game seriously

Ok, look. Riders and Zero Gravity were balanced badly. I'm being frank here. It feels like there was absolutely no care whatsoever put into the different characters, boards, and shortcuts. Flying characters have a massive advantage, power characters are handicapped from the start, certain boards rely on randomness that basically leaves your success up to a coin toss, it's a mess. Plus the ability of some boards to take multiple kinds of shortcuts basically forced you to choose those.

Audiences weren't impressed by it either. The game was often called unbalanced, clunky, and not very satisfying. Often your winning a race was 100% on what character and board you chose at the start.

Basically what I'm saying here is that Riders has a lot to learn from. The devs have plenty of experience and feedback to base the next game off of, and they know what to do. It feels like they didn't take the game seriously. It feels like they spent 2 games messing around with the mechanics, not once realizing how special and perfect these mechanics could be. Imagine what could happen if they did realize. This, above all else, is why I think the Sonic Riders series needs a sequel.

But will it get one? Alas, it's unlikely. They didn't sell brilliantly, audience reception was lukewarm, and at this point Sega can't afford to screw around with Sonic. There's too much at risk for them financially right now. And above all else, well, I just don't trust Sonic team to make a good game. In general. The last time they showed a good grasp of good level design was the genesis days. They have never once grasped 3D levels properly, and I doubt a Riders sequel would be any different. So does Sonic Riders need a sequel? Absolutely. Will it get one? The odds are slim. 

Thanks for reading.

Some Unique Mechanics

Game mechanics. Oh, the wonders of game mechanics. I love em', you love em', they're what make games tick. So, I figured, why not take the time to appreciate the more unique ones out there? So, I have 3 games lined up here, 3 games that do some different and unique stuff with their mechanics. Without further ado:

Splatoon

Okay, I have issues with this game. BIG issues. But I cannot ignore just how good the core mechanics of the game are, because I have no idea how the devs at Nintendo came up with this. So, for those not up to speed with the game, you do 2 basic things in the game: spray ink with a variety of weapons, and then swim through that same ink in a squid form. You can only swim through your own ink, and the objective of the game is to cover the most ground with ink (In the main mode, anyway).

Not only is this really novel and a great spin on the typical shooter formula, but it is a perfect example of 2 separate mechanics working perfectly in harmony. You shoot ink to swim in, but you have a limited supply, and the way you refill it is to swim in the ink. But you need more ground to swim in, so you spray more ink, which means you need to refill by swimming, and so on and so forth. One mechanic simply cannot exist without the other, and you constantly combine the 2 in interesting ways while you play. Whether that be cutting an enemy's route off with your ink, or spraying a small patch to hide and refill in undetected, these 2 simple ideas; shoot and swim; form the cornerstone for one of the most colourful, explosive, and special shooter games that have ever come out.

And I really can't stress how special indeed this is. Think to all the shooter games out there, how many truly put a spin on the typical shooter formula? Barely any deviate, and the only example I can think of that kind of fits this is Tribes: Ascend. The point here is how unique this is, and how badly this genre needs a mechanics shakeup more than anything else around it. Hopefully Splatoon's success is a good start.

Undertale

You may or may not be screaming in your head “Undertaleohgodwhypleasenomore”, but fear not! This shall not be me going on a ramble about the amazingness of this game. I want to talk about something seldom mentioned, the actual gameplay. More specifically, the bullet hell like mechanics you use to dodge attacks.

Genre mashing is something I wish we saw more of. I have my issues with how the word “genre” is used, but overall it's a handy sorting tool in many circumstances, and a good jumping off point if you're unsure how to describe a game. Genre mashing is the process of taking 2 genres and things from them, like, say, a first person shooter and an RTS, and putting them together into one game. It's a risky move, but I still think it's a shame how segued and cut off the different types of games often are in the industry.

So Undertale is a great reminder how good this practice can turn out. It mashes together the menu and general feel of a standard RPG, while having you dodge attacks through a bullet hell minigame a la Touhou (It's not THAT crazy though). It really lends the game a different feel, as most of your skill involved comes from mastery of this minigame and not the RPG aspects. Those are mainly just a way to interact with the world and choose what to do. It's so simple and elegant, you wonder how nobody thought of this before.

So while Undertale is most certainly not the first game to mash genres, it's a good reminder in this often oversaturated market how there are still many, many untapped ideas and mechanics out there. I'm excited to see them.

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

Ok, this game is very story heavy and I'm loath to spoil it. I'll be talking about the mechanics and the scenario, so if you consider those spoilers, stop here. No plot beyond that, however.

So VLR (How I'll be abbreviating Virtue's Last Reward) does one thing for mechanics that is truly unique. It takes an age old psychological problem and turns it into a gameplay mechanic. And it is brilliant.

So said problem is the Prisoner's Dilemma. For the uninitiated it goes such: 2 prisoners are brought in on a minor crime, and the police think they did a large one. So they separate the 2 and give them 2 options: rat the other out or stay silent. If they both stay silent, they each get 1 year in jail. If one rats but the other stays silent, the betrayer goes free and the silent one gets 4 years. If they both rat the other out they each get 3 years. It's a system designed to logically designed to make both betray, as if there is even the slightest chance the other will betray you should too, or else you get screwed. In reality when mockups have been made it's not so cut and dry, with prior relationships and the implications of betrayal beyond the jailtime playing a large role. And VLR plays this beautifully.

The game runs off this. The 9 players are trapped in a facility and forced to play a sort of Prisoner's Dilemma. They each have a watch with a point value on it, and every “round” they have to play the Dilemma with another person, and choose ally or betray. If both ally, they each get 2 points. If both betray, no points are gained or lost. If one betrays and one allies, the betrayer gets 3 points and the victim loses 2. If your points hit 0, you die. The goal is to escape through the #9 door after your points hit 9. The catch is that the #9 door can only be opened once.

So VLR locks you in with 8 other people and forces you to choose: Ally, or Betray? It's not just a simple cooperation situation, as the stakes are constantly rising and nobody is quite sure what lies ahead. So if one person decides to be a lone wolf and choose betray, they could get out and screw everyone else over, ensuring their own safety. But if everyone thinks this and chooses betray, nobody gets anywhere.

But points aren't everything, no sir. VLR makes damn well sure you know what betrayal means outside of this point system. Characters will react appropriately if you're a cooperative saint or a betraying jerk. For example, if you try to game the system and get as many points as possible by betraying, the group will turn on you very quickly. If a character confides in you how much they trust you and you stab them in the back, your relationship fractures. It will affect the story and ending you get, big time.

And finally, this retooling of the Prisoner Dilemma works very well in tandem with the multiple endings and routes. You'll start to pick things up and notice character traits that apply in every route. You'll learn stuff that you can apply in the future, and predict how characters will vote and how they'll react to your vote. For a single example, Dio's a dick, big time (apparently Dio is a name that inspires such behavior in media), and you have to take that into account when voting against him.

This perfect blend of high stakes, a psychological question, characters, and the game mechanic of multiple routes makes an amazing experience. The voting in VLR is one of the tensest experiences in gaming simply because of all this. I have spent a full hour agonizing over my choice because there is never a right answer with all these factors at play. It's an assault on your morals and a test of your trust with these fictional characters, and heartbreaking decisions will surely lie ahead.

So, to recap that crazy ramble, this is just so unique because of how it retools an age old question, and how it interacts with the usual visual novel mechanic of multiple routes. But the sheer idea behind it is what impresses me the most. Would you have thought of a game relying on the prisoner's dilemma like this? Most likely not, and we need more ideas out of left field like it. It makes for more interesting games, stories, and experiences. And play the Zero Escape series if you haven't. It's literally one of the best stories in gaming.

So, I hope you enjoyed this small trek through the more inventive side of gaming. I certainly love checking the odd and different areas of it out, and I hope you give some of these games a try, they're all very much worth your time. Thank you for reading, and have a great day.