Blog is not related.

So, in gearing up for the grand ‘re-launch’ of the ImageChaos podcast in February, I am reaching out to content creators to interview and feature in every other episode. I really would like to get the IC podcast moving forward in a way that it has never done before. So, keep a lookout on this space for additional details about the re-launch. Tell your friends if you have any (I told all two of mine) and feel free to drop me a line at imagechaos@gmail.com if you are interested in being interviewed to talk about media, entertainment and chaos of the image variety.

IC

That is to say, I don’t want developers to railroad me into particular stories. We now have the technology and there are studios out there who have the ability to create content and develop methods by which they can create these individual stories experiences.

Now, I’m a bit peculiar. I don’t enkoy it when someone talks to me about a game I haven’t played and details some of the experiences to me. I prefer to have the experience myself. Similarly, I approach. I read publisher’s synopsis of several books until I read one that speaks to me.

(This is the same way I review games. I will not answer “what is the game abou?” because I feel that question is lazy and subjective)

All of that said, I am looking forward to several games that are coming down the pipe specifically because I will have the ability to create my own experience. These games offer story and option. That will allow me to differenciate my own experience from others’.

(If you’ll recall I made a rambling post about the sort of MMORPG I want. Sadly, none of these are that. Perhaps I should just start working on a business/game model to pitch to studios.)

Star Wars: The Old Republic
Let me first begin by saying, unequivocally, that I am not a fan of Star Wars. That is to say I’m not particularly more interested in the Star Wars intellectual property any more than I am, say, Lord of the Rings or the Lethal Weapon series. It simply is. That said, I am pleased that we are finally getting a huge budget sci-fi MMO in a market dominated by fantasy.

Choice
From what I read, each class will have its own storyline, with zero overlapping missions. Apparently, when I’m a Bounty Hunter, I won’t have the same experience as, say, a Jedi Knight. Additionally, choices that I make during dialogue trees will have lasting repercussions.

Too often I’ve played MMORPGs where, regardless of if you complete a certain mission, you I always pick up the story by leveling to the proper point. Also, there is no lasting repercussion to any choice I make in a mission. If I let the Captain die, I can just go back to the quest giver and get it again. Magic-o fantastic-o, the captain is alive again. What is the point of an experience if when I make a choice it doesn’t matter?

Deus Ex
I haven’t beaten the first game. Apologies for those purists who feel that that’s blasphemous. I just didn’t feel the story, acting or presentation was compelling enough. Also, I just got it for the first time last year, so that might have something to do with it.

Playstyle
For those of you who have played any cooperative game with me, you understand that I’ll always take one of two roles: Sniper or Healtank (for those of you not versed in MMO speak that’s a character that will take attacks on behalf of the team but also heal or provide defensive support to the others). I like this because it provides me with tactical overviews of the battle and, with this greater sight of what’s going on, I can make informed decisions.

Deus Ex promises to allow me to play the way I want. If I want to take my time and snipe the crap out of an area, I have that option. If I want to be stealthy and make my way past the enemies, I can do that, too. If I want to be rambo, well, I can get dead.

I hate hate hate it when there is only one way to solve a puzzle in a game. It drives me three different kinds of insane. If my objective is to shut down a reactor, what does it matter if I can only get through a checkpoint by breaking through a fence? WHy can’t I climb on a roof and make my way that way?

I am looking forward to taking charge in this game.

Guild Wars 2
Full disclosure. I never got past level 15 in Guild Wars. This is because of two very important reasons: 1 The monk was not a monk but a cleric. This infuriated me because the clothic style was that of an oriental kung-fu monk. 2 I couldn’t jump.

Discovery
One thing I’m very intrigued about with Guild Wars 2 is how it’s going to introduce non-story quests. For instance, I’m walking down a path and I hear a farmer call out for help. I can go over to him and I see (rather than him telling me) that bandits are attacking! If they continue to attack, they’ll kill all his rabbits and carrots or something. So it’s up to me (and whomever else is passing by) to take care of those bandits! But I don’t just kill ten of them, I have to get rid of them ALL. More, if I just run past and ignore him, if the farm falls, I may not be able to buy lucky rabbits’ feet or carrot stew from the neighboring town because, guess what, my action had a consequence.

The press information for GW2 is full of these kinds of examples and I’m really looking forward to experiencing this. More than just that, though, I’m also looking forward to how they’re doing their skill system. And, speaking of which:

The Secret World
Another non-Fantasy offering coming down the pipe in the MMO space. Very pleased. It boasts Alternate Reality Game aspects, a horizontal progression model and some really compelling story ideas which I hope pan out.

Latitude
One thing I always disliked about MMOs is that there was always a progression gate before one reached a certain awesome skill. With the original Guild Wars, this wasn’t that much of an issue in PVP arenas, but with Secret World I have the opportunity to select the skills that I want — in what combination I want — without fear of being completely useless. This was, and still is, one of the major draws to me about Champions Online.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Years ago Dungeon Siege 2 did something I thought was pretty unique: You gained more skills in a certain weapon the more you used it. Similarly, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion did the same: you became better at the things you did the most of. With Elder Scrolls V, developers are taking that idea to the nth degree.

Reward
I will be rewarded for playing the way I want to play. Unlike Deus Ex which simply allows me to play how I wish, with Skyrim I’ll get better at the things I do the most of. If I spend my time shooting arrows, I’ll get better at that. Magic? Same. Sneaking and pickpocketing, sure. This is a reward for playing the way I find most fun and, as I get better, my fun will increase. I really look forward to experiencing this but I am pretty sad that it’s not showing up in an MMO instead of a single player experience.

So these are my previews and expectations for some of the games coming out in the next year. Check out my follow-up posts on the games as they come out.

As one of the waitresses we spoke to said: “I think it’s pretty fascinating how passionate people are… It’s different, but it’s a lot like how people are really into their sport teams.” But are we Otakus, or, more generally, Geeks, as passionate as those who are about sports? I consider the analogy and I see a great deal of parallel. We have stars, we have luminaries and game-changers and with each passing generation, we have the old fogies who remember the ‘good ole days.’

But it saddens me a bit to know that unlike sports, anime will remain on the sidelines (forgive me for the odd metaphor location) of popular culture. It’s generally accepted that fans of football or basketball are allowed to feel deep sadness when their team trades off one of their star players, feel betrayed even. It’s accepted when a man openly weeps at such an occurance (well, to some degree). But when a geek experiences the same emotions over a favored manga series suddenly being cancelled or the art change of a beloved anime, only in the anime/geek community is such a depression accepted and understood.

I am constantly amazed and pleased how more and more people are coming to embrace the term geek and the culture surrounding it, as easily evidenced by conventions around the world. From Trek conventions to Anime, to the mega ComicCons around the nation, geekery is no longer a word or a phrase to imply some sort of social deficiency. But we’ve got a long way to get to a point where I can put up several figurines of anime characters at my desk and have it just as accepted as another co-worker’s sport figure bobble heads.

With all of that said, I have a huge number of pictures that I’ll be linking to in this post. This is the first Otakon that I’ve made it a point to take a lot of pictures and I am generally happy with how many I took. In total, I took 179 pictures, most of them duplicates of the same image (I like to make sure I get a good version of each thing). But I do want to take a moment and share a little geekiness with you:

There were a crap-ton of The Doctors at Otakon. Most of them were Matt Smith’s Doctor, but I saw a few Tennant, one Eccelston, a Dalek, a K-9, and there was a picture of a group of Doctors surrounding a Dalek. So. Cool. I also saw a TARDIS! (not the actual police box, but…)

So, I will be following this up with a trip to Dragon*Con this Labor Day weekend at which I will be missing another geeky event in favor of it. I am really looking forward to seeing what Dragon*Con has to offer. I understand that there is a crap-ton of more diverse geek-tastic events and panels happening there so I look forward to it.

Right now, I am exhausted. Crowd and Andrew do not mix. That and I spent two hours playing DDR and its clones yesterday. On hard mode. For those of you who have never played DDR on Hard mode, let me save you the trouble: Don’t. First, you have to understand how the arrows work, then you have to come to grips with the fact that while your brain might recognize all of the patterns, your body is like “WHOA WHOA, there, Tiger. Just what the frak do you think you’re doing!?”

That said, I’ve got a bunch of things I’m planning to do on the horizon: I’m working on my post-otakon podcast. Working on LastMage again. Developing a web show. Recording a voice acting demo and a few other things. Hopefully develop an Anime

As always, go forth and be Geek.

IC

Big deal.

Okay, so I understand that some people are going to be taken out of the experience of their television show because they can’t look past the fact that a show that was recorded back in 2005 now shows ads for the new Transformers film in the background. But, honestly, who does it hurt? As far as I’m concerned this is far less obtrusive than the tickers on the bottom of the screen or the show-interrupting commercials in the middle of an episode. And, if it gets studios more money when offering streaming films or shows by keeping things relevant, big deal. Good on them for monetizing.

But beyond the fact that some people might not like product placement, it is a direct response to how people around the world now watch television. That’s right, I’m talking about the TiVo revolution. Now consumers can watch what they want, when they want. That 2 to 5 PM golden time for breakfast cereals, toys and fast food? No longer relevant when that kid can watch his power rangers whenever he damn well pleases. Sexy singles only running late at night while re-runs of She Spies is on? Nope, now we can watch that filth at 10 AM. Time-shifting has changed the paradigm of ad time placement.

And, most importantly, there’s the fact that people can now skip through the ads. This is the crux of the whole thing. Television channels can no longer guarantee that ads they are being paid for will make their way to consumers’ eye-sockets. Not when even a six year old knows how to blee-bloop, blee-bloop, blee-bloop their way through a commercial. So, these business people have to find a different way to get ads to consumers. And they have found a way to do it where you can’t look away: in the same show you’re watching.

So, yes, while I understand that sometimes its annoying and heavy-handed. Big deal. I’d much rather that than see half the screen of a show being played filled with a new McDonald’s offering.

Full disclosure: I haven’t watched honest to goodness television since Christmas. And even then the experience was painful. How do people watch live television anymore?!

IC

Wisconsin. Japan. Media and Content. And other stuff.

IC

ImageChaos Podcast – Paradigm Shift