Posts Tagged definition
Pop-up Videos and Love
Posted by The Management in design on February 27, 2010
Although I enjoy creating games more than anything, occasionally I ponder what it’d be like to focus on critiquing. If I were to take that path, I have a couple of ideas for “hooks” that could potentially set me apart from countless critics and reviewers. One such hook is (was?) the format of a Pop-Up Video.
The idea is simple enough, although time consuming. Still, it’s a sure fire way to stand out from the crowd, and Ben Croshaw’s Zero Punctuation has certainly shown the benefits of a unique format. Also, the iconic imagery used to convey opinions and trivia in Pop-Up Videos can be extremely preferable to actual voice recordings.
And with the advent of YouTube’s annotations, Frank Cifaldi of Lost Levels has created his own version of the concept:
Obviously it’s missing the visuals of Pop-Up Videos, and there’s a bit of a data overload for the length of the clips, but it’s still good stuff.
The videos also repeatedly mention one aspect of game creation that’s widely recognized but rarely discussed in detail: “the love.”
It’s a nebulous term, and seeing how it’s been a while since I’ve suggested any definitions, I figured it’d take a shot at it.
One of my personal favourite loving touches: the plant enemy from DraculaX. It's not a boss, yet it's only encountered once in this semi-secret room along the way to the alternate exit from Stage 1. It's completely optional and there's no prize for defeating it, but it greatly enhances to the atmosphere.
The idea of love in a videogame usually boils down to the romantic notion of a developer so passionate about a title that he surmounts countless hurdles to put his personal stamp on the creation. It’s the extra sprite that’s encountered just once in the game, the playful dialogue between minor characters only accessible upon subsequent replays, an alternate special move for a boss that only appears on the hardest difficulty, etc.
These loving touches don’t carry a lot of bang for the buck. They’re easy to miss, they’re rarely duplicated, and they usually have a minimal effect on the gameplay. If they’re planned ahead of time, they’re often the first elements to get cut when the realities of budgets and schedules rear up. It’s not easy to place any actual value on them, and when removed — or simply not implemented — their absence doesn’t seem very detrimental.
In short, they’re the opposite of the typical bullet-points that can go on the back of a box.
Baking bread in Ultima VII was far from a requirement, yet it's often used by fans to exemplify the game's rich setting.
Somewhat contradictorily, though, they can easily become the most memorable parts of a game. They’re what can set it apart from other titles and make it special to the player, and, in the grand scheme of things, matter a whole lot more than the number of levels or weapons. That alone warrants a definition:
loving touch, n.
- An element of a videogame that’s largely inconsequential and easily overlooked, but one that often represents quality and resonates as a unique and defining feature.
What are some of your favourite examples of “the love” in a videogame?
Three Small Definitions
Posted by The Management in writing on March 16, 2009
It’s not entirely surprising that the syntactical quality of writing in videogames is hit-and-miss. After all, not every studio can afford an army of English-grads, and many projects are enormous undertakings where something can easily slip through the cracks (especially when localization is involved).
Writing about games, though, should be different. Videogame journalists are primarily writers that are the sole authors of singular pieces relatively small in scope, and they also have an editorial staff backing them up.
Well, one would hope.
I kind of do...
I’m not too intrigued by the idea of consumer reviews vs. artistic critiques — I think both are relevant, although it’s very hard combining them – but neither approach should be exempt from, to put it quite simply, the proper use of words. Matthew has been known to point out an example or two of this, and I’ve decided to do something similar. Below are three definitions of some frequently misused words in the land of videogame writing.
1). Ironically
This is a tricky one, but, as a general rule of thumb, simple coincidences are not necessarily ironic.
- Poignantly contrary to what was, or might have been, expected or intended.
In short, “ironically” is not a synonym for “incidentally” or “conversely.”
As a side note, before Matthew Sturges did all the funny-book stuff, he taught me a bit about definitions and grammar. He also wrote a somewhat famous article about Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic.” It’s a good read, although whoever archived it seems to have mangled it up a bit.
2). Irreverent
Irreverent does not mean wacky, original or interesting.
- Lacking or exhibiting a lack of reverence; disrespectful.
- Critical of what is generally accepted or respected; satirical.
Irreverence is basically an antonym of reverence. This means that the act of being irreverent must fly in the face of something that’s revered. Also, it helps to explicitly state the subject of said irreverence — simply saying that a game is irreverent is an extremely vague description.
3). Comprised (of)
“Comprised of” is an incorrect usage and a misunderstanding of the word. Yes, I know it sounds right, but it isn’t.
- To consist of; be composed of.
- To include; contain.
Comprised (complete with the redundant “of”) is often used to tick off a bullet-point list of a title’s defining qualities. Instead, “consists of” or “is composed of” should be used, i.e., fifty states comprise the United States of America, and the United States of America is composed of fifty states.
It might be a lost battle, though, as “comprised of” is fairly prevalent in all sorts of writing and is well on its way to becoming the next flammable.
About
Hi, my name’s Radek Koncewicz, and I'm the Creative Lead of Incubator Games, a small development studio I started with a few former coworkers.
I think a lot about videogames, and when I find the time, I post those thoughts here on this blog.
