Week of 1/20/2008

No More Rules

Despite his pseudonym, I really respect Suda 51 and what he tries to do with his games. I say "tries", because he doesn't always succeed and some of his efforts result in good ideas executed poorly. But I respect that he tries to push the boundaries of games and that he takes the tools he's given and utilizes them to their fullest.

Take Contact, for example, a game that I wasn't very fond of but respected for the unique ways it used the touch screen, the microphone, and the WiFi feature on the DS. He also broke the fourth wall by getting the gamer emotionally involved in the game and making the gamer part of the game. Despite what I thought about the gameplay, it was a great concept.

Killer 7 presented some really great concepts as well, but those concepts were unfortunately hidden behind layers of questionable design choices. Nevertheless, it was a game that I adored simply for the experience it provided.

Enter No More Heroes, which to me is the game that Suda 51 and Grasshopper has been trying to make for the past decade. Is it perfect? Not even close. If you analyze it purely as a video game and nothing more you'll find tons of problems. Repetitive battles, blocky graphics, tons of pop-in, and some seriously questionable design choices. But if you pull back and view it as something more than simply a video game No More Heroes pretty much nails what it sets out to do.

As an aside, let's not argue "are games art?" here. I can shit on the floor and call it art, okay? If you want to call game "art", call it art. It doesn't matter.

Back to No More Heroes. The game is a prime example of post modernism in action. Post modernism is a pretty tough term to nail down, unless you pop this game in your Wii. Then - BAM! - there it is. You'll see the melding and dissolving of genres, self-parody, and not-so-subtle nods to the gamer that almost say, "Hey, I know you're playing and I know this is game. Let's have fun with it." There's no imaginary fourth wall up and that's what makes it so fun. When the elite assassin Travis Touchdown (and I could stop the sentence right there) has to take on a job collecting coconuts to earn money for his next hit, it seems absurd - and it's supposed to. When Travis Touchdown takes down the 7th ranked assassin in the world and heads back to his hotel apartment to hang out with his action figures, it feels out of place - and again, it's supposed to.

The game makes skewed, blurry references to pop art, video games, and pop culture. It's enough to sort of help you relate to the character, but not too much because of the absurdity of the whole thing. Because just when you start to get sucked into the game - immersed, if you will - you're slapped in the face with something that reminds you, "You're playing a game, jackass!"

Style points aside, the gameplay's nothing to sneeze at, and certainly does a better job than Killer 7 of bringing people into the experience. Again, Suda has taken the tools given to him with the Wii and used them to their fullest. The Wii Remote combat is refreshing and surprisingly clever, if a little confusing at first. The easy way out would have been to use the Wii Remote as the sword; ie: swinging the Wii Remote swings the sword. But Suda takes a different route by mapping the sword swinging to the A button like a traditional game, and using gesture controls to perform special moves and to position the sword high or low. Travis also performs crazy suplex moves (him being a lucha libre fan and all), and a host of other moves.

So many developers follow the familiar patterns already laid out by those who came before. When you play an FPS with a traditional controller, you know what to expect. The same goes for a platform title. And with the Wii and all the new possibilities it presents, it's been alarming to see how quickly developers fell into predictable patterns, churning out "me too" titles with "me too" gameplay. What's most exciting about Grasshopper is that they don't follow these rules. Their logo almost obnoxiously declares "Punk is Not Dead!" It seems pretentious and silly until you realize that they seem to develop their games with "punk" ideals; fuck what came before, let's break some rules. I love that.

John



Empty Sack

I've got some letters that have been sitting in my email account for some time now, so let's get those cleaned up.

Hey that After Hours show was good stuff John & Hilden. Working for similar sites over the years too I hear where you're coming from. That must have been one hell of an experience to get that Capcom call though, I probably would have went nuts after that.

But that was an awesome first installment, and I can't wait to hear the next!

-Dale

Thanks Dale. So Dale's talking about the first episode of Team Fremont Live: After Hours, where we talked about the origins of Team Fremont and what we did before this site. It's been quite the interesting ride.

that's awesome to hear you got a killer vacuum, damn I remember growing up that was my main chore out of all my siblings I got to vacuum, and my mom must of thought we were bored all the time or something because I wish she had
me vacuum once every two weeks, because many years back yonder living there she had my vacuum once every two days....it just seemed wayyyy too soon. Even though it didn't take terribly long I always dreaded vacuum day

But anywho, congratz on the new vacuum, and make sure to bring it to clean up after yourselves at the Daryls ;)

-Dale

Hey look, it's Dale again! That Dyson continues to amaze me. Christine just used it yesterday, in fact, and our carpet is all fluffy and soft. I still can't believe I'm this excited about a damn vacuum cleaner.

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to say that I too liked the episode of TFL:AD last week. It came out the same day I heard the last 1upYours with John Davison and Mark McDonald, so it was nice to get an extra TFL fix to soften the depression.

luckily I always read the CWJ section so got it right away. Again, keep up the good work. Those of us who don't post much still listen and 'preciate it.

Odo Lives

Thanks Odo! I really enjoy doing the After Dark bits, just because it's a good way for us to hang out and reminisce or bullshit about topics outside of gaming. As for why we sort of hide it here in CWJ, it's just not something we think too many people would be interested in and aren't too interested in promoting it as a "real" show. So if you like the series, just keep checking back here every week or so.

hey man, good to hear you're back on the other end of the spectrum.
-rwiggum

Wiggum's referring to my insane holiday depression. Thanks man. I did go a bit dark there for a while, didn't I? Sorry 'bout that. We really need to make some changes next year so I can actually enjoy the holidays with my family, rather than dread it.

RE: The Daryls

Man, I truly wish I could have made it this year, but unfortunately for me, I could not. I'm sure it will be a blast, though!
-rwiggum

Another encore! It would have been great to have you there, Wiggum. And yes, we did have a great, great time.

RE: After Hours #4

Good to see another episode up! So did you and Hilden just decide to forgo the "relationships and marriage" episode then?
-rwiggum

A threepeat! I'm glad you're enjoying the After Hours episodes. I'm not sure what happened to that one, but it's still in the queue. I think Hilden just listened to the Scotty episode and enjoyed it so much that he wanted to put it up sooner.

So that's it for today. Phil sent over part one of the journal from his trip to the States, so I'm going to try to get that posted for you in the next couple of days. I think you're all going to enjoy his perspectives.

John





Team Fremont Live: After Hours #4 - Scott Hass

There are very few people in this world that are as near and dear to me as my friend Scott Hass. He's a true character and a truly unique individual. Throughout our seventeen year friendship, Scotty has given me so many great memories and so many great stories that I couldn't possibly collect them all. In fact, the name of this blog - "Cooking with John" - was actually a spin on a book we once joked about writing called "Cooking with Scott Hass". The idea was to chronicle all Scotty's misadventures, priceless quotes, and pearls of wisdom into one massive tome and sell it at head shops around the world.

I try to introduce everyone to Scotty, as I feel their lives will be richer for the experience. In fact, when Phil was in town I made a point of spending an evening with Scotty. And of course, Phil loved him.

So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to Scott Hass in our latest episode of Team Fremont Live: After Hours.

Enjoy.

John