1. 2 years ago 

   Love Behind the Fourth Wall

   This is a topic that has been on my mind recently, something I’ve wanted to take a look at. Feel free to give any and all feedback you want, I look forward to it.

   

   The portrayal of love in videogames is something I find a little inadequate, allow me to explain. I’m a big girl, romance stories of any kind seem to hook me instantly. It’s just something about the medley of two people’s lives when they find themselves set on the stage of romance that I find interesting.

   Now you can get your romance fix from loads of places these days; books, movies, songs and my personal choice - formulaic Anime and Manga (stop laughing). What of videogames? The very medium I hold most dear, that will forever remain my primary passion. I notice a distinct lack of love in my games.

   Love is not to be confused with lust in this instance, plenty of games have that, two characters driven together through circumstance or coincidence and as a result, find attraction. This is not love, at least not in the sense of which I am speaking.

   Love isn’t limited to the relationship and romantic escapades either, love for a singular character can be enough, and that is a love outside of gender, but are there really that many characters in games that can be deserving of that kind of attachment?

   

   What I mean when I talk about love in games is twofold:

   The unfolding story of two individuals who find each other in some manner and the progression and resolution of their story.

   This is such a selling point in a story to me, this’ll hold me more than any world destroying whale…thing, or any sentient machine ship (and I’m a man who loves his sentient machine ships). Playing a game just to get to the next scene because all I want is to see what she says to him about this and that is something I really haven’t experienced yet, and I think that’s a shame.

   I know a few people that would place Final Fantasy on this platform as their champion, I have to admit, if any game series was going to provide meaningful character relationship it’s that one. The chronicle that springs to mind is numbered VIII, the relationship between Squall and Rinoa. As a youngling I found this to be deeply moving, but as a youngling I found Dragonball Z to be deeply moving, so go figure. When looking at Final Fantasy VIII through more mature eyes I can see it for what I really was, a shallow, angst-ridden misadventure involving two truly detestable characters. But dammit if just thinking about it doesn’t make me want to start it all over again, then again I’m a romance Manga fan.

   The players’ relationship with their character.

   Is it possible to love a videogame character? I know it’s something that people can experience, have any of you ever felt something kindred to love to a character in any type of medium? The reason we cry at movies, the reason we don’t want to turn the last page in our favourite book, are these not types of love?

   

   Think about it like this: the lack of intriguing romantic stories is directly related to the lack of intriguing characters. Now I’m not talking about Big Daddies here, because they’re a whole other kind of intriguing. I’m talking about emotionally interesting people, whose stories you want to see, whose adventures and reaction to those adventures keep you enthralled. While there are numerous examples of these kinds of individuals from books and film, their existence in videogames is sparse at best.

   This type of discussion can be related to the famous gaming question “Did you cry when Aries died?” I didn’t, but then again, I’ve never cried at a game. No character death or departure, no joyous conclusion or twisted betrayal has ever left me emotionally committed enough to weep, yet the gates open for The Iron Giant, my cheeks are left sodden for The Green Mile. Why not the death of Gray Fox? Why not the supposedly torturous decision in Mass Effect?

   So is the prospect of love for a videogame character a barren one? Many people will cite Alyx Vance in this case as a character with which people are emotionally joined. I personally disagree, although Half Life 2 does provide a character with which I can commune, not dearest Alyx, but her trusty d0g. This is a character I truly care about, and the prospect of its (his?) death leaves me fearful; it does seem like the kind of avenue that might be taken by Valve to give players a memorable finale to the current series. It is a path that, if taken, may well leave me locked in lamentation.

   So there are the two foci of this little saunter, in only one can I find suitable representation. This should not be, where does the answer lie? Is there blame to be spread? I don’t believe so. It is my belief that videogames struggle in this narrative area for the same reason it struggles in all narrative areas, that people just don’t view videogames as an art form capable of offering this type of experience. The players’ refusal to believe that the medium is able to reach this juncture can and will nullify any emotional event before it has a chance to occur.

   Is the uncanny valley to blame? That disdainful gorge to which all games are transported upon origination, a fluke of the human brain which causes each of us to refute anything other than 100% original home-grown human. Or is it just a pre-planted notion that games can’t deliver that kind of experience? That games just aren’t art?

   

   This began as a set-piece but in the writing has become a journey; apologies if this has seemed far too rambled at points, that is just my way. The questions put forth here are personal; each one of you would have different answers, different experiences in gaming. I can see a lot of you disagreeing with me because of those experiences, and maybe you’re right to. Maybe I’ve missed all of these emotional encounters, like ships in the night. But to me, the singular moment of emotional resonance in this medium was of an old snake, crawling down a tunnel towards his fate.

   - Jason Frost

2. 2 years ago 

   The Eyepet Identity

   Hey guys, I’m Dave Taylor, one of the Mail-Order Nerds! This will be my first offering to this blog, I’ve done some other serious pieces, but for this I felt it would be best expressed through the medium of comical rant. Enjoy!

   I’m a big sucker for falling victim to the jelly-legged feeling incited by the fuzzy, the tiny and the adorable. Dogs with big, dangly mandibles, cats the sleep like sky-diving starfish, the tiny turtle that tackles the tremendous tower of tasty potatoes…
   
   
   What you don’t see however, is the tiny turtle’s tiny seizure.

   It’s not just animals that make my day, many characters from TV, film and games get under my skin and become like mascots for the whole experience. When designers manage to encapsulate inherent cuteness in their characters, not only do they create memorable and engaging assets, but they instantly draw many to their product through the allure of cute. This has been proven many times in all medias, be it the delightful mannerisms of Wall-E, the adorable expressions of the Sackboy, or my personal favourite, the glorious cluelessness of dog “Spunky” from the old TV series “Rocko’s Modern Life”. Some of TV’s most popular shows have such characters - the Simpsons has the ditzy Santa’s Little Helper and bizarre Snowball II - as do many films and games alike. Cuteness comes in many forms, can be harnessed by many designers, and is very helpful to your product.

   However it takes a keen mind and artistic flare to create a truly adorable character. Even the biggest companies take a crack at it and fail. This brings me neatly to the Eyepet. Sony has created a character that defies any take on the theory of cuteness, resulting in a lifeless, plastic character that denies anyone the grant of jelly-legs, fuzzy-wuzzies or squidgy-hargle-bungles. That is, it doesn’t revert one into a quivering, incoherent blob of confused warmness. The reasons for this are very obvious once the theory of cuteness is considered.

   
   I want my characters to be so cute, you’ll want to punt them in the face.

   The theory of cuteness shows that “cuteness” comes when the character is seen to be underequipped for something that they could be seen attempting or undertaking. For instance, the aforementioned turtle taking on the heap of potatoes is clearly cute as is the turtle’s inability to see the scale of the task before him as he dives hungrily and happily into the mountain. This is highlighted by his small, outstretched neck reflecting his passion towards the task, and his tiny, agape at clearly dwarfed by the hulking mound of nutrients. In one photograph, cuteness at an epic scale has been captured.

   And yet the Eyepet defies this notion, instead seems to be an embodiment of the failure to recognise true cuteness. Firstly, by having the face as a separate material to that of its fuzzy body immediately gives the impression of a stuffed-animal, rather than a creature in its own right. So from first appearance it takes on the persona of a living toy, rather than an actual “pet”. Also, its regular-sized eyes, normal nose, almost human mouth, all fail to create any allure as their inherent averageness all fade into a bland design. The arches that create the –usually very expressive- eyebrows are carved into the face, stoic and frozen into a forever surprised arc above its normal, uninteresting eyes. Forever it will show only one emotion; unwavering, endless shock and glee. This instantly eradicates any notion of a creature capable of multiple emotions that can be cute in all stages. It is the anti-Sackboy.

   
   As the small hairy creature stared intently at its new owners, the Jefferson’s could feel themselves slowly recoil in unison, increasingly horrified at tiny monstrosity seemingly staring into their souls.

   Also, by localising the face and casting it in a glossy, cream-coloured plastic, it focuses all attention on the hideous excitement of a creature unable to express emotion through its forever swollen cheeks. The hands also seem to be cast in this same material, moulded purely to grasp with its freakish toes like those devious little Tamarin monkeys, except this thing won’t grab at fruit like a cheeky imp, instead it will use them to scare the youngest family member with its insatiable glare and grasping digits.

   So by failing to create a character design that is fluid or engaging, it becomes this eternally lifeless husk framed by a hideous face that will haunt the dreams of many and simply bewilder others. I swear I just want to take a can of deodorant and a lighter to it.

   And now I return to my videos of sloths trying to eat fruit that is *just* too big for its cheeks.

   - Dave taylor

3. Notes: 1 / 2 years ago 

   Inglourious Basterds Review

   Ok I’ll try my best not to spoil the movie into oblivion here.

   I’m not the biggest Quentin Tarantino follower, I enjoyed Pulp Fiction but wouldn’t put it anywhere near my top 10, and Kill Bills styling grated on me more than it intrigued. Mr Tino does one thing very well; he makes the most seemingly mundane scenes into crafted masterpieces of pacing and undertone. Never is this more evident than Inglourious Basterds.

   The movie opens to a farmhouse scene, the first 10 minutes of which I spend in a type of elated agony. Here we are introduced to (in my opinion) the shining star of this film, Col. Hans Landa, Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of this sleek, dangerous Nazi Colonel is one of the most impressive I’ve seen all year. Landa spends the majority of the opening scene interrogating a local dairy farmer and it is here that we are given the first example of the type of scene that will dominate the following two and half hours. Scenes soaked in so much tension that there’s a noticeable intake of air from the audience as they reach their resolution.

   This is the major strength of the film, but also one of its most apparent flaws, scenes full of interesting characters talking and just not enough action. I would have given anything to have 30 minutes of this movie (not the bar scene!) replaced with 30 minutes of the Basterds rampaging around Nazi occupied France, gathering scalps and dispensing horrific, horrific vengeance.

   The marketing of the film is very clearly directed towards the Basterds being the main entity in this experience, but that place is taken equally by Shosanna, the Jewish survivor from the opening farm scene. Whose quest for vengeance runs parallel with that of the basterds, and let’s not forget the great Col. Landa, who dominates every scene he’s in with a force of character greater than the twang on Pitt’s accent.

   Ok this is running longer than I wanted it to, this is a great movie, and probably the best I’ve seen all year. I doubt there are many people that would rank this alongside Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs and I can understand why, the ending (surprising though it may be) leaves me with an empty feeling, almost like I missed out on something potentially great.

   What we have here is a movie that is not equal to the sum of its parts, filled with fantastic scenes and memorable characters and none of it ever quite manages to gel properly, I live in hope of a blu ray release with added scenes of scalping awesomeness.

   “Arreavadeerchi”

   - Jason Frost

4. Notes: 2 / 2 years ago 

   The State of Play

   Right, Here we go.
   
   Hey there, my name is Jason Frost. I’m a second year Abertay Student currently living in Dundee and Studying Game Design Production Management (GDPM).
   
   Now that that’s out of the way, why are you here? Well this blogs purpose is summed up quite nicely in the title, not that you’d know that of course, you don’t really know anything right now. This blog is designed as a precursor to a much larger project that will be going live in October of this year: “Mail Order Nerds”.

   What is Mail Order Nerds?
   Good Question! Mail Order Nerds is a website that will be launching later this year. This website will feature Abertay Students like myself and my fellow GDPM year 2 classmates discussing events and goings on in the game industry, as well as a lot more.
   
   The website will/may/can feature:

   • Analysis (for lack of a better word) of the latest gaming news from around the world.
   • Game reviews written by myself and some of my fellow Nerds.
   • Webcomics designed to such a level of nerd-dom that you’ll require a neckbeard to even decipher them.
   • Movie and music reviews
   • Last but certainly not least, A weekly podcast featuring all of the Mail Order Nerds ranting, raving, rejoicing, regaling and regurgitating the weeks new, reviews, posts and all things relative to the great kingdom that is Nerd.

   Why should I read this nonsense over all of the other nonsense I can find?
   Well the hope is that you’ll enjoy our outlook on the game industry, being from the viewpoint of Scottish Games Students. I guess time will tell just how much people enjoy what we have to say.
   
   Thanks for taking the time to read all of this drivel. I’ll be keeping this blog updated as best I can until the site-actual goes up.
   
   Thanks for Reading and enjoy!

   - Jason Frost

A blog for Nerds.

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