Last Train Home 2012/05/15

I recently rediscovered where to go to get write ups for criticism of video games. the aptly named Critical Distance blog. Game articles are the theme of this round up and if you want a wider selection I certainly recommend checking out critical distance:

• I already mentioned this on my Google+ feed, but I thought Extra Credits did a constructive job of looking at the problem of harassment in online gaming communities and the question of what can be done about it.
• Soctt Juster at PopMatters put his finger on a game trait that I think older games often managed better than newer titles: "One of my favorite aspects of video games is their ability to simulate worlds that reconcile the conflict between huge spaces and quick trips.  Virtual spaces can be big enough to feel large and mysterious but small enough to mentally map as a contiguous whole, even after you get the ability to fast travel via the equivalent of a virtual jet. "
• Krystian Majewski at Game Design Scrapbook wrote a piece noting that the first Suikoden game pull off the team building premise of Mass Effect and in some ways manages it even better. Sadly, many of the later Suikoden games are fairly widely seen as disappointments, although I quite liked Suikoden 2 as well. I'm not sure where the series hit the wall.
• Wondering where the music games have gone and whether they'll return? Adil Sherwani at Medium Difficulty has an insightful discussion on what Guitar Hero and Rock Band did and did not achieve while citing Smule's Ocarina iPhone app as pointing to a possible way forward. I'll have to see if the app is available for Android as well.

Comments

[Moti]

Ah, Suikoden. I would say that opinions differed on #3, but that most people I knew still liked it. #4 was where it all came apart.

But the first two were really just great games, and even had carryover between the two of them - some of the same characters, etc. I really look back on those fondly; maybe I should retry them. I think I still have the original PS1 discs around, even.

Given your interest in China, have you ever tried reading the classic Chinese novel that Suikoden is very loosely based on? It is one of the vaunted top 4 Chinese novels, but it's really classic, i.e. hundreds of years old, meaning the style isn't exactly easy to get used to. (There's a fifth top one, but it was too racy, so it's usually listed on the side.)

[Kate]

I tried reading The Water Margin, but couldn't really get into it. It was an old, two-volume, fairly academic translation, and I think I have to be in a particular mood for those.

While I (and by marital extension, Greg) own all the Suikoden games released in the US, I've only played the first two as well (and read the manga for the third). I bought them all because I figured I'd get to them at some point and there weren't that many copies out there. I may yet get to them.

[Greg Sanders]

I shall have to read the Water Margin. Any favorite translation? I shall also put Suikoden 3 on my list of games to play someday. It's a fairly long list, but I'm pretty picky about what gets added these days.

[Moti]

Alas, no; I haven't read Water Margin either, beyond a couple of bits. But maybe now that I'm old enough, it's good to give it a try. There's a Chinese saying about these works that the young shouldn't read Water Margin, just as the old shouldn't read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It just gives us the wrong ideas. ^_^