Film, books and art seek to create alternative realities in which we can explore issues and themes found in our own.
These computer generated worlds are becoming more and more sophisticated with each passing year. In 1983 we're Skiing with Horace, in 1997 we're wondering around the world of Gaia in Final Fantasy 7, and now, in 2010 we have this...
Uncharted 2
If that's 2010, imagine what 2020 will be like.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
1-up! Part 2
Yesterday I spoke of a computer game that made grown men cry. What is the name of this game?
Final Fantasy VII.
FF7, dear reader, is a role playing game (RPG). It was the first of its kind I ever played and it changed the way I looked at computer games forever.
This game itself is epic. It is basically an interactive story that takes 60 - 80 hours to complete, with you as the hero. You play a mercenary for hire named Cloud, an ex. elite solider who is hired by an old childhood friend, Tifa, to help a tiny rebellion group called AVALANCHE in their fight against the massive evil corporation Shinra who are literally draining the planet of its life force to use as a source of energy.
This may not sound like much but this is just the tip of the iceberg, with many a magical battle against man, machine and monster before the end credits roll. Oh, and also the occasional massive twist to boot.
The reason I hold it in such high regard is this: it is a fantastic story. In fact, it's one of my favourite all time stories of all time. As UK.Gamespot.com observed back in 1997, 'Never before [has] technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII. The culmination of Square Soft's monumental effort is a game that will enrich just as it will entertain.'
That fact that you control all the members of your party (up to 9 members, I think), and expend huge amounts of time and effort to help them grow through out the course of the story, you really, really care about them.
So if something bad was to happen to one of them.....you may find yourself reaching for your handkerchief
Why do I keep banging on about computer games?
Final Fantasy VII.
FF7, dear reader, is a role playing game (RPG). It was the first of its kind I ever played and it changed the way I looked at computer games forever.
This game itself is epic. It is basically an interactive story that takes 60 - 80 hours to complete, with you as the hero. You play a mercenary for hire named Cloud, an ex. elite solider who is hired by an old childhood friend, Tifa, to help a tiny rebellion group called AVALANCHE in their fight against the massive evil corporation Shinra who are literally draining the planet of its life force to use as a source of energy.
This may not sound like much but this is just the tip of the iceberg, with many a magical battle against man, machine and monster before the end credits roll. Oh, and also the occasional massive twist to boot.
The reason I hold it in such high regard is this: it is a fantastic story. In fact, it's one of my favourite all time stories of all time. As UK.Gamespot.com observed back in 1997, 'Never before [has] technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII. The culmination of Square Soft's monumental effort is a game that will enrich just as it will entertain.'
That fact that you control all the members of your party (up to 9 members, I think), and expend huge amounts of time and effort to help them grow through out the course of the story, you really, really care about them.
So if something bad was to happen to one of them.....you may find yourself reaching for your handkerchief
Why do I keep banging on about computer games?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
1-up! Part 1
Computer games.
I loved them as a child. I still recall the day in 1983 when my dad brought home our very first computer, the power house that was the 48K ZX Spectrum. We played Horace Goes Skiing. A lot. You basically played a blob called Horace, and as I recall you had to navigate the blob across a road a la Frogger style to hire a pair of ski's before taking to the slopes, and by slopes I mean jerkily moving down a white screen through some poorly animated slaloms. It was a simple game with simple needs. And I loved it.
I was hooked on computer games from there on in. The Spectrum gave way to the Atari ST (1990), then the Amiga (1993). The games on these machines, especially the latter, were about a billion times more sophisticated as far as graphics, sound and scope were concerned, but I also noticed something else, something that was reflected in world of films.
Although great in the main, some of these newer, better looking games were incredibly boring to play. The Spectrum was renowned for having awful graphics yet had thousands of games that were an absolute joy. This was because the programmers for the Spectrum were all too aware of it's short comings, so concentrated on arguably the most important element of all - the game play.
What does this have to do with films?
For some reason or another, we humans love spectacle. We actually crave being impressed (although I'm getting ahead of myself here - this is a topic for another post). Hollywood recognised this years ago and so started to churn out tales that were all spectacle and special effects with no real consideration for the actual story. They still do, because there is a market out there for that type of film.
What we really want them to do is concentrate on the story first, effects second. No tail-wag-dog, thankyouverymuch.
Now, the Amiga was finally retired and replaced by a Playstaion (PS1). Most games up until this point had been in 2D but we were now living in a 3D world (of course, the PC had been in said world for a bit longer than this, but as it cost around £1,000 to buy a machine capable of playing these games, I didn't really learn of their existence until a few years later).
It was on the PS1 in 1997 that I had my most powerful gaming experience to date; I played a game that made you care so much about the characters that it actually made gown men cry (I was not one of them, but I was deeply shocked by the event that caused said tears).
What game could possibly do this?
I loved them as a child. I still recall the day in 1983 when my dad brought home our very first computer, the power house that was the 48K ZX Spectrum. We played Horace Goes Skiing. A lot. You basically played a blob called Horace, and as I recall you had to navigate the blob across a road a la Frogger style to hire a pair of ski's before taking to the slopes, and by slopes I mean jerkily moving down a white screen through some poorly animated slaloms. It was a simple game with simple needs. And I loved it.
I was hooked on computer games from there on in. The Spectrum gave way to the Atari ST (1990), then the Amiga (1993). The games on these machines, especially the latter, were about a billion times more sophisticated as far as graphics, sound and scope were concerned, but I also noticed something else, something that was reflected in world of films.
Although great in the main, some of these newer, better looking games were incredibly boring to play. The Spectrum was renowned for having awful graphics yet had thousands of games that were an absolute joy. This was because the programmers for the Spectrum were all too aware of it's short comings, so concentrated on arguably the most important element of all - the game play.
What does this have to do with films?
For some reason or another, we humans love spectacle. We actually crave being impressed (although I'm getting ahead of myself here - this is a topic for another post). Hollywood recognised this years ago and so started to churn out tales that were all spectacle and special effects with no real consideration for the actual story. They still do, because there is a market out there for that type of film.
What we really want them to do is concentrate on the story first, effects second. No tail-wag-dog, thankyouverymuch.
Now, the Amiga was finally retired and replaced by a Playstaion (PS1). Most games up until this point had been in 2D but we were now living in a 3D world (of course, the PC had been in said world for a bit longer than this, but as it cost around £1,000 to buy a machine capable of playing these games, I didn't really learn of their existence until a few years later).
It was on the PS1 in 1997 that I had my most powerful gaming experience to date; I played a game that made you care so much about the characters that it actually made gown men cry (I was not one of them, but I was deeply shocked by the event that caused said tears).
What game could possibly do this?
Monday, June 21, 2010
Alternate Realities
So, the thread that connects all of the previously mentioned subjects together for me is reality.
With the exception of philosophy (for the most part), all of the other subjects seek to create an alternative, structured, reality in which we can explore our own.
Where does classical civilisation fit in?
Greek myths, those exciting stories of gods, heroes and monsters, fascinated me as a child. Years later I decided to learn more about these fabulous tales, and discovered that one of the primary reasons for their creation was to explain how the world works (reality) and where man stood within it.
This, in turn, led to my interest in philosophy (why are we here?) and all things ancient Greek and Roman.
It wasn’t long after this that I realised that all good films, literature, and art sought to create credible and interesting realities that mirrored our own; realities in which we could explore certain issues and elements of human nature.
This need to create alternative realities seems to me to be ingrained in almost all of us, although it seems that most people only explore these worlds (TV, films and books) rather than seek to create them.
Why should this be?
And also, where do computer games figure in all of this?
With the exception of philosophy (for the most part), all of the other subjects seek to create an alternative, structured, reality in which we can explore our own.
Where does classical civilisation fit in?
Greek myths, those exciting stories of gods, heroes and monsters, fascinated me as a child. Years later I decided to learn more about these fabulous tales, and discovered that one of the primary reasons for their creation was to explain how the world works (reality) and where man stood within it.
This, in turn, led to my interest in philosophy (why are we here?) and all things ancient Greek and Roman.
It wasn’t long after this that I realised that all good films, literature, and art sought to create credible and interesting realities that mirrored our own; realities in which we could explore certain issues and elements of human nature.
This need to create alternative realities seems to me to be ingrained in almost all of us, although it seems that most people only explore these worlds (TV, films and books) rather than seek to create them.
Why should this be?
And also, where do computer games figure in all of this?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
So, what's it all about?
Now that I have started this blog, I have to decide upon what content should fill its pages lest it disintegrate into one, long continuous informal essay: The Not So Interesting Story of what I did Last [night/weekend/week/summer/holiday/Christmas].
While on occasion this may prove to be quite entertaining, I’m sure that most entries would basically wind up being; got home, ate, watched TV, and went to bed.
Not very rock and/or roll.
So, given that a blogs very nature is to communicate with people via the written word, I have decided to concentrate on exploring the craft of writing.
This topic, I believe, will become the main focus of this blog. However, I feel I will also explore the following subjects from time-to-time:
Reality.
What on earth do I mean by this? Well, that’s probably a discussion for tomorrows post.
While on occasion this may prove to be quite entertaining, I’m sure that most entries would basically wind up being; got home, ate, watched TV, and went to bed.
Not very rock and/or roll.
So, given that a blogs very nature is to communicate with people via the written word, I have decided to concentrate on exploring the craft of writing.
This topic, I believe, will become the main focus of this blog. However, I feel I will also explore the following subjects from time-to-time:
- Film making
- Philosophy
- Classical Civilisation
- Literature
- Art
- Computer gaming
Reality.
What on earth do I mean by this? Well, that’s probably a discussion for tomorrows post.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Hello there!
If you are reading this it is probably due to one of the following reasons:
- You were looking for something else and ended up here completely by accident.
- You are someone I told (whilst drunk) that I actually created a blog back in 2004 but have only just got around to writing something in it.
- I have at last made it as a filmmaker - rejoice! You have scoured the interwebs to gain some insight into the fellow whose wonderful film you've just watched and came across...this.
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