TV & Gaming: How Videogames Changed The World

There is very little presence of gaming on television, and what little is covered tends to focus on either the worst aspects or merely the unusual novelty. The wider and ever-growing culture of gaming is largely ignored by the mainstream media, which is odd for an industry that is about 30 years old and financially so massive.

Charlie Brooker, one of the UK's foremost voices on gaming and games culture (picture from channel4.com)

Earlier this week saw Charlie Brooker demonstrating the new Playstation 4 to a bemused Jon Snow on Channel 4 news. It was exactly the sort of cringe-worthy television I have come to expect and yet I was still disappointed. No planning had gone into the piece, Charlie Brooker seemingly having been brought in as one of the most visible gaming voices in the UK to defend the medium as a whole.

While Charlie wasn't quite successful in convincing Jon Snow, he made some reasonable points in an otherwise messy segment which lacked any real substance to inform the viewer at home. If you already knew about games and gaming, you were far too informed for the piece, if you knew nothing then you'd leave not much better off. It would be a stretch to consider it journalism, and served as nothing but to highlight the generation gap between the two men. I'd recommend reading this Martin Robbins article in the New Statesman about this particular episode.

Indie Gaming: Dear Esther

I first played Dear Esther as the original source mod, some time ago. Today, I replayed it as the full game. Some things have been changed, and generally it looks and sounds so much better. It remains a wonderful and thoughtful experience.

It's not really a game though, is it?

I'm not sure I care though.

The music, the narration, the atmosphere are all perfect. Jessica Curry's music in particular is a highlight for me, and I even bought the album from bandcamp. I bought it last year and have listened to it several times, it really is under appreciated.

Free Indie Game: Olav & the Lute

Olav & the Lute

It is a wonderful time to be a gamer. The vast amount of games available is staggering, and new games are being produced every single day. These range from the biggest blockbuster marvels all the way to quirky free independent games. As such, it is always great to find out about a gem of a game that I otherwise would have missed. Olav & the Lute is one such game, and it was The Adventure Gamer that uncovered it for me.

The magical lute, the key to awakening the loom

The game puts you in the shoes of Olav, and you find yourself in a strange post-apocalyptic fantasy world. As you progress from room to room, you find a book and a lute which allow you to create magical effects on the world around you. Strumming a tune on the lute can destroy, burn, poison and more, but by reversing the notes you can repair, freeze, heal and so on.

The silent, slumbering loom.

Figuring out these tunes requires interacting with the world around you, with certain items ringing out with a particular set of notes (helpfully colour-coded for those of us with a certain lack of musical talent). An early puzzle has you looking at a "king-sized key" to receive the tune of locking/unlocking, and using it on the conveniently nearby "queen-sized door".

Playing my way out

Indie Gaming: Papers Please

Glory To Arstotzka! The October labour lottery has been completed. Your name was pulled. You have been selected to write the review for the game "Papers, Please". Do a good job, your country is counting on you.

In Papers, Please you play a humble border checkpoint operator. It is your task to process the entry documents of all persons wishing to enter Arstotzka. The year is 1982, and while the countries are all fictional, the design truly makes you feel like you are working for an oppressive authoritarian regime.

Indie Gaming: The Stanley Parable (2013)

How do you go about writing a review, a blog post, a tale of your experience for something like The Stanley Parable? I'm not sure my writing can do it justice. It's a bizarre and wonderful creation, full of secrets, jokes and twists. I love it, it's one of the best games I've ever played, and yet I'm sure it would infuriate some people.

The End Is Never The End

I guess you could describe it as "meta", because it has a level of self-awareness and self-parody that can only be done with these sorts of small indie projects. I'm not sure it's the best description though, as it undersells the game, it undersells the experience of playing through it, and if you're anything like me you'll play through it a couple of dozen times or more.

Remember to make the right choice.

Playing Along: Loom (1990) - Finished!

Well that was quick. As soon as I decided to spend an hour or two with Loom, it was all over. They really did make them short and sweet back in those days, but in this particular case they left it with a huge cliffhanger ending. Anyway, to recap...

Head to the forest, or the city. There is nothing to the left, nor is there anything to interact with on this screen.

I had been stuck at a waterspout, which I couldn't get past. I needed to think a little bit more about how the game works, because all it took was clicking the waterspout to get its pattern and then reversing it. Simple really, but enough to confuse me early on when I was still getting to grips with the interface.

The forest! Nothing to do here but annoy shepherds.

Kickstarting: Shadowrun Returns

I backed Shadowrun Returns many moons ago, because it seemed really interesting. I've actually not played it yet, but it has been out for a while now. So why write a post? Well, because of some stuff I got in the post! Yes, the backer swag has arrived, and it looks rather good. If you'd prefer a review of the game, you can either wait months for me to finally get around to playing it, or read further at one of the following websites:

RPG Watch: http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=222

PC Gamer: http://www.pcgamer.com/review/shadowrun-returns-review-2/

Eurogamer: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-25-shadowrun-returns-review

So here's a little gallery of what you get if you foolishly pledge far too much money towards an indie RPG (it might be more excusable if I hadn't done this a few times, but at least some great games will be getting made in a small part because of me!).

The box, the book and the t-shirt