Blog post 11: Mother and Father Figures in Rise of the Tomb Raider

Bianca Batti writes about mother and father figures in the newly released Rise of the Tomb Raider. She talks about two characters, specifically, whose roles, relationships and interactions with Lara act out as parental roles. Batti believes that often in video games, father figures are often seen as both mentors and protectors and mother figures are constructed as either victims or villains.

(Spoilers ahead.)

Firstly, Batti talks about Jacob, the leader of the Remnants, which is the community that protects the key to immortality (called the Divine Source) for which Lara is trying to find. Initially, Lara is reluctant to trust Jacob, since she has a different goal for the Divine Source. 

The second character is Ana, who is constructed as a mother figure to Lara, having been Richard Croft's partner until he died and she has become some sort of mentor to Lara after the death of her father.

Now as the plot twists, we learn that Ana is not the positive influence on Lara's life as she first seems to be. She is revealed to have been working as a spy, watching Lara's progress in her quest to find the Divine Source.

Ana has been depicted as a liar, a spy and a villain. She is not the good (stand-in) mother that she was initially made out to be. Rather than being reveals as a maternal character who supports and guides Lara, she is selfishly motivated and seeks the Divine Source in an effort to save herself from a terminal illness.

"But what seems especially important, here, is the manner in which Ana’s bad motherhood is used as a means of introducing Jacob’s new role in Lara’s life and of colouring the manner in which we (like Lara) view this role. Indeed, because Lara has found that she cannot trust Ana, she doesn’t know if she can trust anyone, Jacob included."

Jacob's role as a father allows Lara to feel she can trust him. His influence has been characterised as one of guidance and a positive mentor. Batti continues to explain the fatherly role of Jacob:

"In this way, Jacob’s presence in the game shifts, from potential (and potentially untrustworthy) ally to trusted paternal presence, moral figure, and mentor. But, again, this characterization only begins to occur after Ana’s construction as bad maternal presence is revealed, thereby placing Jacob’s influence over Lara in opposition to that of Ana’s. Ana’s negative construction, then, works (at least, in part) in service of Jacob’s positive one, and the conversation between the two seems to perpetuate the narrative lineage of the bad mother and the good father, thereby problematically gendering the roles of parents and mentors."

Batti seems to be disappointed in the lack of positive mother figures in video games and Rise of the Tomb Raider is just another one. From my experiences of playing video game, I've seen plenty of positive father figures, most of them even being the protagonist of the game; such as Joel from The Last of Us, Ethan from Heavy Rain or Delta from Bioshock 2. Most of the time they are portrayed as heroes for their sacrifices and willingness to do anything to protect their family. I honestly can't think of a mother protagonist in a game. They are often side characters such as the mother in Child of Light. She gives her daughter strength to save the kingdom but we don't really interact with her much. Mothers often have minor and simplistic narrative roles. I'd like to see a Mother protagonist lead a game.

This Week in Videogame Blogging:

http://www.critical-distance.com/2015/11/29/november-29th-2/

Bianca Batti: Heroes and Villains: Mother- and Father-Figures in Rise of the Tomb Raider:

http://www.nymgamer.com/?p=12223 

Blog post 10: Clash Between Story and Violence in Video Games

Simon Parkin discusses about how violent protagonists have become increasingly evident with time, given that the graphics of virtual scenes and characters have become more vividly rendered.

In the past, players had to imagine the abstract icons and symbols moving on screen that were represented by monsters and soldiers, but nowadays, these are replaced with targets that have a personality, accent and a race. Players are presented with a gun, shooting targets that hinder the player's progress that are represented in the form of maybe a terrorist or police officer. As the character on screen shoots their targets mercilessly and the body count rises, do we stop to think if there is any reason behind the actions of our protagonist? Simon Parkin explains the flaw in video games of how protagonists are presented and how it clashes with its gameplay causing confusion for the player.

Parkin gives a good example of Crystal Dynamic's approach of the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider. We have a young Lara Croft on her first expedition aboard a ship, in search of a lost kingdom of Yamatai. The ship is struck by a storm and is shipwreck and leaves Lara stranded on this isolated island. She has no real experience for survival and she seemed to be vulnerable. Her first kill is in self defence, as she struggles to take a gun from her aggressor, she is able to shoot him in the face. The cutscene after shows Lara is sickened by her actions but has this traumatic event weighed on her heavily? Parkin explains that:

"The writing team, however, is unable to reconcile their character’s fragility with the pressing requirements of the design team, who clearly need a parade of bullet-sponge enemy soldiers to stand in the archeologist’s path as obstacles. Five minutes after her first kill, Croft is firing off rounds, seemingly without a moment’s thought. Kids, it turns out, grow up quickly these days."

Playing the game myself, I was confused with Lara's characterisation. In the beginning she is vulnerable and uncomfortable with killing people, but the game designers encourage the player to engage in killing enemies aggressively and use brutal tactics. This let the game down where Lara's character is difficult to understand and identify with.

Parkin spoke to Rhianna Pratchett, one of the contemporary Tomb Raider writers explains that:

 "What's good for the gameplay might not benefit the story or the characters – and some of the folks you end up working alongside don't give a damn about story." Parkin however, argues that: " This is a tragic and outmoded way of viewing the process. Just look at the tonal chasm that now exists between the noble video game character we meet in the cutscenes, and their often indefensible actions, surely a direct result of the siloing of thought."

It is a flaw that game writers and designs are struggling with. When the game is supposed to be realistic, the character needs to be relatable with genuine emotions and a plausible character arc, but the gameplay makes them act like a psychopath.

Nobody complains when Mario jumps on a Goomba and kills it. That is still a violent act but Mario isn't a representation of realism, which makes me believe that the more realistic a game looks, then the more difficult it is to make a character believable.

This Week in Videogame Blogging:

http://www.critical-distance.com/2015/11/22/november-22nd/

Simon Parkin: Tomb Raider and the clash between story and violence in games: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/259613/Tomb_Raider_and_the_clash_between_story_and_violence_in_games.php

Blog post 9: Female Character Design in Video Games

Keezy Young shares her point of view on what makes a great female character design in video games.

Young explains that with female character design, attributes are often slapped on without much thought. 

"If 95% of female warriors wear low-cut boob plates, we can acknowledge that at least some of those designs are probably great, and still argue that the trend is obnoxious—especially since male characters are rarely given the same treatment. This is where a lot of frustration with female character designs comes from. The criticism is about the gendered double standard within trends, about the mismatch between context and design, and about the laziness that many designers fall into in choosing attributes to use in designwork; it isn’t a criticism of sexy designs or “beautiful” characters."

She talks about 8 female characters designs that stand out to her the most in video games. These females aren't over sexualised in their visual design, one of her favourites being Samus Aran:

"Nobody who played the first Metroid knew that Samus was a woman until the very end, when she pulled her helmet off, but it was a purposeful design decision. It was supposed to be a big reveal, and it played on the idea that women aren’t protagonists, aren’t strong, and aren’t expected. Or, at the very least, that if women are present, they’re marked by their gender. The designers knew that players would automatically assume Samus was a man because she bore none of the typical markers of being a woman."

Young believes that there could be more diversity in female characters instead of the generic female body type of large chest, small waist with a fit figure.

League of Legends recent female champions have some interesting designs.

There is Illaoi, who has a bulkier frame. She is more manly and appears to look strong. I don't really see this type of character design much in video games.

Then there is Rek Sai, which is a non-human character design. With the absence of physical feminine characteristics, we straight away assume she is male by default. But the designers slapped on a female gender to is creature. This was a big deal when the character was first released, getting the community talking about this different depiction of a female character. 

There is nothing wrong with emphasising the female figure in design. I do agree that there should be more diversity in female appearances with race, body shape and age in video games.

This Week in Videogame Blogging:

http://www.critical-distance.com/2015/11/15/november-15th-2/

Keezy Young: 8 Great Female Character Designs From A Designer's POV: http://remeshed.com/2015/8-great-female-character-designs-from-a-designers-pov/

Blog post 8: Do games really teach us anything worthwhile?

Naomi Alderman was present at a debate on technology and the future a few months ago and was confronted with the line that: “It turns out computer games merely teach you how to play other computer games.” Alderman  argues that games don't have to teach us anything. She believes that games have experiences to offer that you can't find anywhere else, that no other medium can.

Alderman believes that:

"A novel can let you into a character’s triumph in battle, but only a game can make you feel proud of your victory. A TV show can make you feel disgusted by a character’s avarice, but only a game can make you feel ashamed of your own actions.
[...] Games have that same electric tension you might find in the theatre, but instead of watching the actors, you are both the actor and the audience."

Alderman concludes that games can give you experiences that are unique but games may not teach you life experiences, increase your resilience, raise your IQ or improve hand- eye co-ordination.

In my opinion, I do believe that gaming can teach you a few things. Gaming can improve your hand-eye co-ordination over time. Real-Time strategy games require us to plan, strategise and manage resources. They also require fast analysis and quick decision-making. Simulation games usually try to mimic the real world, such as managing a city. This can teach us management decisions and using resources appropriately. Puzzle games let the players solve intricate problems under time pressure which involves logical thinking. But do these skills apply to real life and are they worthless? Honestly, as an avid gamer, I don't notice these skills impacting my everyday activities.

Games don't give me life altering experiences, but when was that the point of video games? I play games for different reasons. Escapism, challenging myself, being competitive or simply to just lose myself in its world with the art and music. Gaming has been a huge part of my life and its helped me form friendships and has given me years of entertainment. I enjoy games for what they are, not for making me a better person in life.

This Week in Videogame Blogging:
http://www.critical-distance.com/2015/11/08/november-8th-2/

Naomi Alderman:  Playing video games doesn’t make you a better person. But that’s not the point:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/06/video-games-give-you-unique-experience

Blog post 7: Tone Control Podcast with Tim Schafer

I listened to Episode 12 of Tone Control, where Steve Gaynor talks to the well known game designer Tim Schafer.

They discuss about Schafer's career, starting from when he was fresh out of college and hired by LucasArts as a tester. He then became co-writer, programmer and additional designer for games at LucasArts such as The Secret of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle.

Schafer describes his time being at LucasArts as a "Crazy, magical, and happy time. We were really spoilt at the time and worked right out of college, it was great because of the freedom and creative ideas." Schafer talks about being co-writer on Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle saying "It is good to remember how scary it was to lead my first project and how much safer I felt knowing I had a co project leader."

In 2000, Schafer founded Double Fine Productions after he spent over a decade at LucasArts, developing games such as Brutal Legends and Costume Quest.

Schafer talks about his experiences brainstorming ideas for games, pitching the ideas to publishers and thinking of budget whilst creating games. 

I enjoyed listening to the long career of Schafer and the experiences he has had working for LucasArts to owning his own company.

Tone Control, Episode 12: Tim Schafer: 

https://www.idlethumbs.net/tonecontrol/episodes/tim-schafer

Blog post 6: The Nostalgia in Retro Video Games

Remember the days of blowing the dust off the cartridge so the game would work? It gives me that wistful feeling.

I played a lot of video games as a child. The earliest gaming memories I had were playing Sonic the Hedgehog on The Sega Master System. I remember how I'd spend many hours trying to complete every game my dad gave me with my sister. We played games like Alex the Kidd, Ecco the Dolphin and Wonder Boy to name a few.

I received a Game Boy from my parents. My sister got Pokémon Blue and I had Pokémon Red. We spent countless hours playing and trading each other Pokémon. As we grew older we would get  all the other gen Pokémon games — she got Silver, I got Gold and so on. After we both got Pokémon X and Y, I realized that I didn't feel the same sense of joy I did when I was playing Pokémon Gold back in the day. Why do I feel like I enjoy the games of my childhood more so than current games of today? Don't get me wrong, I still love gaming and it will always be a part of me, but there was something special about the old days.

FemHype’s June talks about nostalgia in her childhood gaming experiences:

"I’d be lying if I said nostalgia wasn’t a huge part of the allure for me. However, I think the retro gaming resurgence is due to much more than a collective yearning for the sanctuary of our simple childhoods. When I look at the unabashed joy of retro gamers, I think it’s due to stressing gaming as gaming first and foremost with no strings attached, and very little gimmicks."

I agree with June and I still play my childhood games from time to time, the repetitiveness of it still has its novelty. Maybe it's an attempt to revisit my childhood and the happiness that comes with it.

June talks about the expansive retro gaming market and how the internet is exploding with new content every day. She says how "Her time was spent browsing through countless cartridges, discs, and forgotten trinkets off Amazon and Ebay."

But why do retro games have great replay value? June believes that the single player games in early years have better replayability than games of today, although multiplayer online play is the modern day equivalent. The storylines in older games relied more on atmosphere and worldbulidng. They didn't have the best quality graphics of today to be able to tell stories. They relied on exploration and explication of their worlds, which helped enrich the solitary experience and  furthered immersion for us. 

June concludes that she would like to see a renaissance of retro gaming:

" I would like the resurgence of retro gaming to something like the boom in vinyl and cassettes in music. It’s a community driven by a love of certain formats, styles, and aesthetics. It’s not meant to replace contemporary gaming culture, but rather, exists as a subculture within gaming that is surprisingly thriving right now—a subculture which I’ve decided that for myself, personally, has more substance to it than its contemporary counterparts."

The retro gaming subculture seems to be a larger and growing interest by gamers old and new. Game developers have released titles that are repackaged older games such as Atari Classics, Activision Hits, The Sonic Mega Collection, Metal Slug Anthology and Sega Genesis Collection. I personally own the Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on PlayStation 3 to play some of my childhood games and I even discovered some retro games that I hadn't even played before! I'm all for the expansion of the retro gaming subculture and for retro games to become more than just a collective memory of video game history.

This Week in Videogame Blogging:

http://www.critical-distance.com/category/this-week-in-videogame-blogging/

June's article Retro Resurgence: Why I Stick to the Nostalgia Subculture:

http://femhype.com/2015/10/14/retro-resurgence-why-i-stick-to-the-nostalgia-subculture/#more-95053

In Response to Nick's Blog: Games as a Two Way Conversation

In Nick's blog he discusses how would single player games make the gameplay more immersive for the player.

He addresses that with single player games, we don't really have any real way to express ourselves with the gameplay or storyline other than playing with the game's tools provided by the game developers.

Nick gives an example of what games could do to make it more of a two way conversation: 
"What if the game tracked how you played and changed certain elements to make it harder for the user to progress through the storyline. Could you imagine if Dark Souls, for example, tracked what enemies you struggled against the hardest and started increasing the amount of those enemies throughout the gameplay? Dark souls is already hard enough. But the gameplay would just be that one step more immersive."

I agree with Nick and would like to see new ways in bringing the player closer to the game. Allowing the player to be able to express themselves and having the game respond differently to each individual, which would make their gameplay experience unique.

Nick's Blog:

http://snickienickie.tumblr.com/