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2015: THE YEAR I REALISED by Mr Biffo

31/12/2015

15 Comments

 
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In terms of the broader picture of gaming, there's not much to say about 2015 that won't already have been said in countless other gaming retrospectives.

Read those and you'll hear about big budget flops such as The Order: 1886, disappointing performances from online-only shooters such as Evolve, Konami doing its best to destroy the goodwill of its customer base, the sad passing of Nintendo's Satoru Iwata, and - if they're chronically off-message - the disappointing waft of nothing that was Halo 5.

You might also hear less miserable news about a Final Fantasy VII remake, Shenmue 3, the well-received relaunch of Destiny, and the approaching rumble of a 2016 Virtual Reality bandwagon.

Narrow the focus to my own POV, and I had a bit of an awakening in 2015. It was my first full year writing about games in a very long time, and I engaged with the games industry in the way I hadn't for the best part of a decade. What had changed about the industry in the time I was away? Oddly... not a lot. Me, on the other hand... me change much-much.

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WHAT THINGS?
I spent a lot of the past year whinging about being disappointed by games. Having had a bit of time off to reflect, I think I know why I was left feeling so bereft.

See, I entered 2015 expecting to like the same sorts of things I had always liked in games. And to a point I did. But in much the same way that, as I've gotten older, I've come to crave richer, deeper, more personal connection in my relationships, so too have I found myself seeking the same in video games. And I hadn't been braced for that.


I was left confused when I found it impossible to engage with something like Halo 5 in anything but a superficial way. But then, Halo 5 is all surface - the depth simply isn't there. It's like having a friend who just wants to go out and get drunk and party, rather than sit and talk about stuff that matters to each of you. It's a game that makes a lot of noise without saying anything of consequence.

At some point, living a superficial life ceases to be enough. Don't get me wrong - sometimes all you want to do is blow shit up... but too much of that, and it just gets boring, hollow, repetitious. It doesn't reward the soul.

Something like The Witcher III might've been full of content, but its world, story and characters didn't feel like they had an atom of originality about them. It was trying too hard to be something else, to matter; where Tolkien might've drawn from his own experiences, Witcher III drew from Tolkien. Like sitting in the pub with someone who recycles all their opinions from Dawkins, or Chomsky, or... whomever, without thinking for his or herself, you're not having an authentic experience.


After a lot of this, I started to realise that big budget gaming might not be for me. I appreciate the pyrotechnics that only the big, big games can offer, and Nintendo rarely disappointed - when they deigned to put out a game. But it seems that triple-AAA games can't 
offer me the depth of idiosyncrasy, individuality, and originality that I seem to need from games these days.

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CHRISTMAS EFFECT
My game of this Christmas - the one that from now on I'll always associate with Christmas 2015 - was Broforce.

​I'd missed it upon release - hamstrung by a buggered laptop - but ​it sort of summed up the way I've increasingly been leaning this year.

It's a game full of those pyrotechnics, but it's also eccentric and singular. You get the sense of a focused vision behind it, rather than a committee. It is exactly what I want; it's authentic.


Her Story, 80 Days, Broken Age, Not a Hero, Lara Croft Go, Downwell, Undertale, The Beginner's Guide... these were my games of this year. Short and sweet for the most part, they evoke the ingenuity that could be found back in the bedroom coder days.

They're the sorts of games which made me first fall in love with games as a kid. When something like Jet Set Willy could only have been the product of a single mind. Games that are individual enough that I could have a connection with them, rather than feel like I was having a conversation with 400 different people at once.


​And armed with this knowledge of what I need from video games, I'm entering 2016 with a very different outlook. I'm not always going to blame the big budget games for not giving me what I want: they have a purpose to serve, and it's hardly their fault for not knowing what I need.

Instead, I'll take on the responsibility myself: the industry is now big enough and diverse enough that those singular visions are out there. That there are games with which I can build deeper, more personal, more authentic, relationships. It's up to me to see them out.


FROM THE ARCHIVE:
GAMES OF MY YEARS - The Digitiser Story by Mr Biffo
VIDEO GAMES: A REFLECTION OF TERROR by Mr Biffo

SCAREMONGERING: DOES THE GAMES INDUSTRY BRING IT UPON ITSELF? by Mr Biffo

15 Comments
combat_honey
31/12/2015 10:28:17 am

Given how wonderful it's been reading Digi this past six months or so, I have been a bit worried about how jaded you've seemed in a lot of the reviews you've done (despite the fact that you've made it abundantly clear how much you're enjoying doing Digi itself). So it's good to know that you have found plenty to enjoy this year, and that you're optimistic about 2016 games-wise.

Happy New Year, Biffo!

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Kelvin Green link
31/12/2015 11:59:26 am

I am very much looking forward to The Last Guardian -- if it ever comes out; I bought a PS3 three years ago to play it -- but otherwise there is little on the big-budget horizon that interests me. I think the last machine that excited me was the Wii, because it was the one that didn't get involved in the graphics arms race that was taking over gaming.

We do seem to be in an age where creativity can blossom via Kickstarter and digital downloads, and while I don't know if we will ever get back to the days of bedroom coders with singular visions, I think we have something similar. I have my eyes on Undertale and Broforce in the new year myself, as soon as I can upgrade my PC to play them.

Happy new year Biffo, and Digi fans everywhere!

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Jordan
31/12/2015 04:23:52 pm

I'm with you, entirely. I've not played a big epic AAA game and enjoyed it properly in ages; I prefer small doses of fun and clever concepts. I've just bought Hook on Android despite being about a year late to the party and I love it, it's a simple, fun, infuriating concept and things like that are just... more relevant to me today. I will have to buy Lara Croft Go as I keep hearing how good it is.

I think a large group of people have grown up as gamers, and not held onto that 'gamer' tag. We like the 'world' of gaming, but have become a tad jaded with the same old blockbuster, day in day out, and just can't force ourselves to commit the huge time required. Does that make us, god forbid, casual gamers?

I don't think so, again. I think by being immersed in the news cycle and being aware of what's going on in the industry, and having the odd big game we are excited about (Last Guardian, the FF7 remake, for me), we still hit the mark of being more than the candy crush playing lay(wo)man.

Perhaps I'm talking fluff, but I think game developers are noticing it too; the games you mention in your post... you wouldn't have seen them 10 years ago. I don't think the person existed who wanted to play them, whereas now, I think people like you, and perhaps people like me, do. We want great, fun games, but not the same monster of an AAA title again and again.

I have a fear though, that for me, I'm not looking for the deep connection which I think I want.... I think when I get to play FF7 again, and try and be in that world, I'm going to struggle. And I'm going to realise that I'm not cut out for 'big' games anymore. I want to play fun, pick up and put down games, or addictive simple games, or things which aren't entirely games (Planet Coaster).

Happy 2016, Biffo, Digi.

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Admiral Spiney O'Sullivan
31/12/2015 05:19:07 pm

Looking upon the rather bare lineup of big titles from this year that I actually want (just Arkham Knight, then), I've taken the opportunity to go back in time. There's a bunch of classics I've never played that still hold up. Final Fantasy VII is still good, and Myst was excellent, and Lure of the Temptress is good so far (also playing KotOR, but we'll see if the combat gets any better). Granted this is retro, and not indie like Biffo, but the message is the same: there's a lot of good games out there. It doesn't hurt to step off the current hype cycle and find your own niche.

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PeskyFletch
1/1/2016 01:04:07 pm

I remember enjoying it a lot more when i got my jedi powers and lightsabre, that was at the release though, i've no idea if it holds up.

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Admiral Spiney O'Sullivan
1/1/2016 04:02:11 pm

The world and characters hold up, it's just that combat so far is basically just "select enemy, watch your character whack them awkwardly with a vibroblade for a minute". It's less "The Force Unleashed" and more "The Force On Leash". But the world is interesting, and I'm told the plot is good.

Admiral Spiney O'Sullivan
1/1/2016 04:03:15 pm

The world and characters hold up, it's just that combat so far is basically just "select enemy, watch your character whack them awkwardly with a vibroblade for a minute". It's less "The Force Unleashed" and more "The Force On Leash". But the world is interesting, and I'm told the plot is good.

Hamptonoid
31/12/2015 08:22:43 pm

I completely relate to this, but not just with games - music, tv, films...I'm tired of all the big budget mainstream stuff, as it's all too familiar. But. ..if I was new to gaming, then I'd go for the flashy, big name stuff.
Like you say, there's enough variety out there to keep everyone happy, as long as you can be bothered to look.

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Evsie
31/12/2015 09:03:23 pm

My sentiments exactly.

Broforce is my game of the year.

For its gleeful destruction, fast pace and retro leaning addictive gameplay. Your not alone in a lack of time and new experiences making you feel blunted to the charms of new AAA titles.

My own lack of time nowadays makes the shorter and more interesting games far far more exciting prospects. I would gladly plow 100 hours on and off into Broforce as its more suited to pick up n play. Where as Witcher3 seems like a mountain of time-drain that I just cant commit to anymore.

Sad but true.

Happy new year to one and all, with a special nod to Mr Biffo and co.

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Mr Biffo
4/1/2016 11:07:41 am

Same to you, Evsie.

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Penyrolewen
1/1/2016 10:49:48 pm

Hey all,
Seems that there's a lot of us 'jaded' gamers out there. We just can't rediscover that buzz, that thrill, that kick that we got from games in the past. Even bigger, better, more graphics, more realism - it just doesn't cut it the way that manic miner did, or outrun, or........... (Fill in your own iconic game). But as a previous poster said, it's the same with music, films, whatever. Yeah, yeah, seen it, heard it, it's just a rip off of ........... (Fill in whatever film/music influences you've seen plundered recently)
Maybe it IS age. When I was young, music was MINE. (I was never into film that much). It touched my soul, moved me, affected me- and it was all new and belonged to me and my friends. Now, having had time to explore more deeply, I can see where earlier bands influenced the ones I loved (or when they downright ripped off earlier stuff) and I can see the same for modern music. As for games, we were there at the beginning and have seen the first feeble thrashings of the industry, seen many evolutionary dead-ends explored, seen the dominant genres grow and grow in power and influence. We really have seen it all before- just not as shiny. Games are now like films, too expensive to risk failure, too locked in to giving people what they know and way too corporate. No (or very few) individual visions allowed to shine.
And also it's us. First dates burn deeper than mid-30s wine bar hook ups. First kisses resonate longer than good-night pecks from spouses. This ain't to say that deeper, longer term relationships aren't better- but first loves linger longer in the consciousness. We just have to find that depth that we value with our partners in our relationships with media too. Happy new year! Ahoy

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Mr Biffo
4/1/2016 11:07:09 am

Happy new 'un to you too!

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Damon link
3/1/2016 12:36:58 pm

Thank you for this. I have been struggling with games for a while and disinterested in so many. I felt like I couldn't engage with games like I used to but it never quite clicked why.

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Mr Biffo
4/1/2016 11:07:57 am

You are more than welcome, Damo.

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Damon link
5/1/2016 05:30:48 pm

The other day I was googling for a chart for a game where the player is meant to deduce and remember coffee orders from the one gint given each day. It made me remember when I would have taken the time to make my own charts and 'do it right'. It is actually a small part of a larger game and wholly optional...

It made me winder... Perhaps games have changed as much as I have?

/great/ another blog that makes me think.




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