Time Passes But Love Never Dies

As I sit here, drinking my tall, cold, plastic cup of chocolate milk, looking through old photos of friends whom I never talk to anymore, I realize that many things have changed in my life over the years.  I've moved from the Central Valley, down to Santa Barbara and then way up to San Francisco.  I've gained and lost numerous friends, fallen in love (twice) and even got into a couple of car accidents.  All of these experiences have changed how I live my life or how I view others.  My tastes have changed as well.  I now have a much broader appreciation for films, books, music and, not surprisingly, my family.  I've heard that the only constant in life is change.  In my experience this seems about right.  Although, there is one thing that has never changed -- something I can't imagine ever changing:  my love for certain videogames.

My favorite game, which has been mentioned several times on this site, is over a decade old.  It came out on the Nintendo 64, a system with the most awkward controller and a catalog of games that comes up short when compared with its main competitor, the PlayStation 2.  Countless other games have come out on about a dozen home consoles and hand helds, but few have earned the right to be compared with that one N64 title.  At least, according to me.  The Halo series has now become a blockbuster franchise with near-perfect multi-player capabilities.  Super Mario Galaxy has redefined the platformer genre.  World of Warcraft has over 12 million people willing to pay a monthly fee in order to give up their own lives and play a game.  I wonder how many people who have played these games will name a classic throw-back title as their favorite, and possibly as the best, game of all time.  Do these titles always rest on pedestals while we maintain some kind of grand illusion about them?  Would our favorite games be worth going back to after so much time has passed?  Would they stand the test of time or fall by the wayside along with other, outdated games?

 At one time this was the pinnacle of technology in our civilization.

There are some who can call a game "great" simply because of the nostalgia it brings.  Memories of a time without paper work or dead lines.  This may be enough of a reason to play a game, but certainly not enough to judge whether or not a game is great.  I loved playing Pokemon Snap with a group of friends a couple years ago, but I know I would never play that game alone.  Not again.  We see this type of thing happen all the time.  We're probably all guilty of hearkening back to the good ol' days about something or other.  You can barely turn on the news without hearing how things have gotten so much worse over time.  Well, this is actually the best time to be alive since the beginning of time.  So grats on that.  Even with videogames, technology is racing forward.  Have you seen the Kinect hack videos?  They're amazing.  Think of the possibilities.  I get excited every time I think about the future of gaming.  I don't know what's next, but I know I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for it.

Now, with all these new fangled doohickeys coming out from the woodworks, I'd still be shocked if any of them replaced my favorite game.  Let me remind you at this point that it came out on the Nintendo 64.  Others my age, or older, have favorites from the original Nintendo Entertainment System.  What does it say about all the new hardware if they can't compete with games that came out before 3D was even an option?  I try to judge the game based on it's own merit.  When I look back, I don't focus on the good memories of my family watching me progress through each area; I look at the story, the difficulty and the gameplay.  I should try to be as objective as possible.  We all should when discussing the quality of any title.  But here's the real question, if we're so sure that nothing will compare with our old favorites, why play new games at all?  Why not just keep playing those top classics and be content appreciating the quality of an age long since passed?

And the crowd goes silent as I go for my 10,000th straight win...

I'm willing to bet that we always hope the next game will be our new favorite.  No one gets into a game with the thought of how terrible it'll turn out.  People want to be entertained.  Whether that's by some old favorite from childhood or the newest game to hit the shelves I don't think people care.  Every time I pick up a Zelda title, I want it to be better than Ocarina of Time.  I want that experience of playing a game I know is amazing from start to finish.  I want another game I would judge with a perfect score.  I hope that the games of tomorrow surpass those of yesteryear, but, knowing that the majority of games are average and good only for a week-long rental, I don't have any expectations, just memories.

Video Game Voyeurism

Do you like to watch? I do.  I’m always happy to watch people going at it, trying to finish, get all those good feelings that come during and after.  Sometimes it’s even better than being personally involved.  And always much easier.  If you’re like me, then you know how good it feels to sit back, relax and enjoy watching other people play some videogames.  Maybe it’s just me, but there are some games that I like to watch more than I like to play.  Some games just aren’t my forte, but are definitely fun to passively experience (watch).  Does that make me less of a gamer or more of one?  I don’t know how many people out there have the same amount of love I have for video games or if anyone else enjoys them on as many levels as I do, but this is one of the ways I would like to share.

To start, let’s talk about “let’s play” videos on YouTube.  For those of you unaware of this phenomenon, it’s a small group of people who record themselves playing videogames and supply commentary.  Whether they play games already beaten or play a “blind” playthrough is up to them, but it’s almost always entertaining, save the user who is sometimes annoying.  That’s a win-lose situation, though, since the commentary is sometimes the best part about watching these videos.  Now I’ll be honest, I’ve watched several games from beginning to end in this way: Super Mario Sunshine, My Life as a Dark Lord, and *ahem* God of War 3.   Of course, it’s not the same experience as playing them yourself, but you get the story, see the gameplay and even feel confident enough to talk about the game as if you actually played it.

 Having never played this game, I remain confident about how I feel towards it.

What does it say about the people that take the time to watch these videos?  With YouTube video limits, one must watch these games in 10 minute segments, often with an introduction and conclusion to each one.  I cannot tell you how much I hate the phrase “welcome back folks” now that I’ve heard well over 100 times in a single day thanks to one user.  If you’re not into watching and would rather get the full experience of the game by playing it yourself, then that makes perfect sense to me and, for most games, I feel the same way.  But there are systems that a lot of people don’t have, with games on them some would love to play, and these videos allow a great luxury.  For a more functional use, they provide a way to see if you’d like to buy a game.  If reviews aren’t enough (you bastard) then you can always check out gameplay videos through the “let’s play” users.  This is probably the most depressing way to spend one’s time online, but it’s definitely a time killer and it definitely makes me want to keep watching.

As for the more personable, friendly way to watch games – someone playing next to you on the couch – it’s much more akin to playing the game yourself.  You can talk to your friend and help solve the game’s puzzles.  If you’ve already beaten the game, you can give your own commentary to the current player and help guide them through.  The downside to this, however, is that the person playing may be terrible.  With YouTube, you can always skip ahead and find a part you’d rather watch, but with people on your couch, you better be ready for some awful gaming skills.  I can tell you from experience that you should never allow your girlfriend to “try out” a game in order to have something in common with you.  That’s just a cute spin on hours of frustration.

"Honey all you have to do is c.mk cancel to hp hadouken supercancel into hp super.  I don't know why you can't get it"

Then there are those games that just aren’t worth the total time it takes to play them.  Games that can be watched out of the sheer entertainment, but should probably never be played.  Often, when games have bad gameplay, it comes off even in the videos through YouTube.  I have laughed hysterically for a number of videos on account of the poor game design and, on occasion, because of the commentators themselves.  Other games must be watched with someone playing it next to you if they are to be tolerated.  The Pokemon games come to mind.  Who would really want to watch a video of someone level-up from zero without anyone to talk to?  You may think that people who watch “let’s play” videos have so little to do that it makes them sad to think about.  Well don’t tell me that, I don’t want to think about it.  I enjoy watching games be played, especially games that I can’t play myself for some reason (e.g. cost, not having the right system, laziness, etc.), and I enjoy watching games and contributing to the player so, in a way, we’re playing together – and that’s when things really get hot.