Well, well! I've typed the words "Mirror's Edge" so many times this week I can almost pretend that I played it. But no! As I look forward
Really, I'm exhausted of new games. I really am. And I refuse to rush through Fallout 3, for example, just because of all the people saying, with proper shock and outrage, "you're not done with Fallout 3 yet? When are you ever going to play [insert title of two week old game here]?!" So my vacation gift to myself is the luxury of doing one thing only, guilt-free -- yes, Chrono Trigger DS, the time for you is now, and let us give thanks.
Two more things about Mirror's Edge, though, and then I'll shut up about it until I actually put hands on it.
One, I received a really interesting letter from a designer pal of mine who is a little bit fatigued of hearing arguments that hinge on the flaws in the game mechanics. In fact, he says, the mechanics themselves are perfect, the controls work precisely how they're supposed to, and if players are finding the game frustrating, it's not because of that. It's the level design.
If players miss jumps, it's not because Faith isn't responding correctly, it's because the level design has made it difficult to gauge distances, and if the gameplay isn't flowing how it seems to intended to, it's because objectives are unclear, is what he tells me. The "trial and error" feel of it? Also level design. Again, I didn't play it, so I can't opine -- I'm just the messenger! -- but trust a designer, one supposes, to point out where the "blame," if you will, should be placed.
His explanation also highlighted what is perhaps a bigger issue: he feels reviewers often don't even understand enough about game design to attribute frustrations we encounter to the proper source, and what we call out as "the problem" sometimes isn't. When something isn't working, or isn't fun, we sometimes criticize the incorrect element.
"In fact, I find half my job as a designer is listening to what people don't find fun about the game and then figuring out what is REALLY not fun about the game (because it is almost never the thing they latched onto) so that I can fix it," he says.
Two, Stephen Totilo got a response from EA DICE about the fan-shopped Faith that motivated my column last month at Kotaku. They say they intended to move away from "the typical portrayal" of women in games, that proper Faith is meant to be "approachable and far more real," and the rendition of her as a "12 year old with a boob job" was "depressing." Check MTV Multiplayer for the whole comment.
I actually played Castlevania: Judgment with a friend last night. Alas, it is not well-executed at all. In a good fighting game, you should able to get by and still have a bit of fun through good old button mashing, and really rock it if you learn timing and techniques. Judgment doesn't let you do any mashing -- enemies will chain you mercilessly in a fashion that feels frustratingly cheap -- and yet the techniques don't seem to come together predictably either.
Granted, I spent much of my time with it using the Classic Controller hookup -- which all Wii games these days seem to require for me to have any patience at all for 'em. I am so, so over waggle, man. If it uses the Wii Remote any more than, say, Mario Galaxy does, count me out. I understand that this game mechanic is responsible for making a whole raft of controller-phobes into happy players, but man, I was raised on a D-pad, and I just have no patience for swinging those things around anymore. I am not gonna play a fighting game by flailing.
Okay, but while fighting games live and die on how playable they are and how well their systems work, I'm a major longtime fan of the Castlevania universe, and I disagree with the periphery I've heard saying that Judgment was a bad idea. It was a fantastic idea -- I think it's just amazing to see the characters this way, and hopefully I'll get a little time to explain in more detail when I get back from Thanksgiving break.
And! Tying up my loose ends before I take off on my Chrono Trigger, family and turkey binge, Variety's Ben Fritz also responded to N'Gai's post yesterday with a really awesome perspective -- innovation and mechanics are not different things.
Please have a happy Thanksgiving, and thanks to all of you for being here!
