Ask Dr. Helmig #20: "Exit Strategy"
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December 2008 Archives
Podcast for 12.29.08 | Snowed In
This week's episode we spend some time cleaning out the mailbag and talking about what games we played over the break. It was a lot of games and this bears discussion. *Is* Left 4 Dead the best game evar? *Is* the new Prince of Persia too easy? *Is* Fable 2 just an early beta and the real game's going to be released Christmas 2009? It's like you're sitting here with me, Ross, Qais and Jinny with a cup of hot cocoa, warming your toes by the fire. Maybe your cup of cocoa has been spiked with Bailey's or peppermint Schnapps's and you're getting shitfaced. Shitfaced with The Weekly Geek. Happy New Year.
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An Obsession is Born
For me, Christmas has been all about the games.
I broke down in tears crying the morning of December 25th, 1989. It was a stressful year. My parents had just got divorced and I had to move school districts. I went from being fairly popular (as popular as an 8 year old can be) to constantly tormented for being the new kid. Even without the ability to comprehend our financial situation, I knew we weren't well off. My Dad was working a lot of overtime trimming trees and doing random handyman work and my Mom was working long hours at the hospital.
I was already into video games. I would be over at my friend's house almost on a daily basis fighting my way through the Mushroom Kingdom to save the princess, or fighting through Hyrule to save the princess, and other variations on that theme. The Nintendo Entertainment System was an object of almost mythical proportions. The worlds in these games seemed more real than reality to me. I took to them completely. This Christmas though. This one started it all.
I broke down crying once I opened the gift my Dad and Mom gave to me. It was just one that year, a large rectangular box a little over two feet across. I still remember the weight of it, how it felt in my hands. I tore off the first leaf of brightly colored paper and saw the iconic black star field and red racetrack logo. My parents had bought me an NES. I'm not entirely sure why I wept, but I was happy.
Since then, Christmas has been all about the games. We complain about games being expensive now, but back in the late 80's and early 90's they were just about the same price. Sixty dollars or so could get you a copy of Boy and His Blob, or Legend of Zelda, or Super Mario Bros. 2. I'd get maybe one game for Christmas from my parents and that game was savored. The year I got Super Mario Bros. 3 was especially memorable. I got it on Christmas day and didn't stop playing it until I beat it on New Year's Day.
Eventually when the SNES came out, my Dad bought it for my sister and I for Christmas. Of course, he put that it was from Santa on the tag, and that it was for me, my sister AND my Dad, slyly linking the SNES to his apartment. That meant we had to keep it there and only play it every other weekend, which made me even more obsessed. Later I'd learn that he did that so we would have something to do at his place, as if I wouldn't carry it along with me wherever I went like I did the NES anyway. That Christmas was Mario Paint, Pilotwings, and Super Mario World. All of these memories are stuck in my mind as really happy times despite whatever hardships or stress came from being a child of divorce and being one of the poor kids in a decent middle-class neighborhood.
After all the gifts were unwrapped and the adults retreated to the kitchen to cook Christmas dinner and talk about adult things, my little sister and I would always turn to our consoles. Now that I think about it, the term "console" is pretty appropriate. It is kind of sad to think that my whole obsession with video games comes from wanting to escape and feel comforted, but as I sit here on Christmas day watching Jinny chop wood and fighting highwaymen in Fable II I can't think of anything more comforting to do. Or more in the spirit of Christmas.
I may be an atheist and we may not have a tree or a nativity scene in our apartment, but this is still a pretty special day and every time I sit down to play a game on Christmas morning I remember being 8 years old, brought to my knees with joy over the gift of an NES. Hope your Christmas (or generic winter holiday celebration) is full of comfort as well. And most of all - great video games.
Helvetica. Junk Mail. Witchcraft.
I can recall my first exposure to a PC, which was early on due to my father's early buy in to the market. It was this indoctrination of regimented syntax and structure (DOS) that provided the groundwork for what has evolved towards an intuitive understanding of the majority of systems I've worked with. Now, many years later, it is only fair that I take up the yoke of reciprocation and return the favor by mentoring the same man that made my infatuation with tech possible.
It hasn't been easy.
Specific processes rooted in detail are one thing, more subjective ones another. Our latest accomplishment is a functional grasp of Gmail Filters, a mix of the two. With the time spent pouring over hundreds of previously unarchived correspondence it didn't take long for the issue of "junk mail" to come up. My father was perplexed, couldn't we just make a filter? He knew that Gmail's built in spam filter was chugging away but a lot of "junk" was still getting through. At the risk of stereotyping the majority of his correspondents as inept adult users I started to outline the criteria I use in my own account, quickly discovering that while both our desired end states matched we were dealing with vastly differing subject groups.
It was at this point we ventured in to the realm of the undefinable, that subconscious rhythm an email can have which immediately sets off sirens. Sure, he knew to look for the tell tale signs of chained FW: in the subject line or rotating GIFs but ultimately it came down to my reliance on "you just know" which was as far from the answer he wanted to hear as the one I wanted to give.
That indefinable rhythm has been bothering me ever since, mostly due to the inability to escape it.
Podcast Snow Day
It's the snowpocalypse in Seattle, and it seems like the rest of the world is taking a break this week as well. There's absolutely nothing going on, which is completely awesome. We're gonna spend some time bundled up with some fun games and get back to you in the new year. Enjoy the holidays n stuff!
All I want for Christmas is fun.
Among my obsessions is a certain penchant for things biographical, i.e. books, and this year I treated myself to a Christmas present: a biography on Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan revolutionary who chopped off the head of the sitting monarch, declared himself the dictatorial "Lord Protector" and assured, by his death, that North America, especially the colonies that would later become the United States, would pretty much be the chosen end-location for all the world's violently deluded Millenialist religious dogmatists who basically give us exactly the reputation we deserve these days as the global asshats and cockends that we allow to manipulate themselves into office.
Sadly, the days of this particular generation's Oliver Cromwells are waning down, and if you can stand to believe it, we have less than a month left of Republican rule over our spatial area. I understand that non-Americans read this site, but this one is primarily directed at the Yanks.
Evernote: The External Brain
As a youngster I voiced my displeasure at a particularly painful headache to my parents. "Why is this happening!?" I yelled, "It hurts!" to which they replied "Well, the little man in your head that goes through all the file cabinets is very busy getting you information, sometimes he starts slamming them shut and that's why you get a headache."
This asshole sounded a lot like the guy in the mailbox, both of whom were relatives of that creepster in the fridge on light duty.
Now, as a jaded twenty-something, I know better than to ask those two anything, yet the image of countless rows stretching past imaginable distance is one that has remained. Day to day dealings involve massive amounts of information and while the little man is now replaced with a frenzied gibbon (he's upgraded to the Minority Report interface, truly a sight to behold) it's a concept I constantly revisit.
Endless information and all of it necessary. Tiny repositories both temporary and permanent that I need to have in hand's reach when the needs arise. Think tank, shopping lists, and more recently a database of details surrounding a job search. A call can come at any time and while the more mundane route of a pen and paper could certainly suffice for a quick lookup I've found an easier medium by which to navigate these information heavy archives. A singular solution like the ever present Moleskin but with meta rich tagging and scalable, universal access.
I've fully embraced the "external brain" that is Evernote.
Initially discovered as an iPhone app, Evernote first impressed with the ability to sync meta-tagged data be it text, voice, or photo. As I delved deeper in to the cross-platform solution a system unfolded that could combine limitless forms of input from wrinkled post it notes to wall mounted white boards. My "to read" list always at my side, job search particulars neat and tidy, and catastrophically unorganized "Ideas" folder archived and searchable.
At its core the Evernote account is remotely hosted, access offered by means of web interface or local app on your computer or smartphone. Notes of any form are synced throughout in a rich cloud of meta data from geographic location to OCR'd snapshots. Browser plugins allow entire web pages to be stored for later reference, local apps allow webcam video capture, and an account specific e-mail address can be utilized from outside the confines of your own machine. Evernote offers a modern backbone to the note taking process, a customizable road map to your information with directions specific as you want.
You can head over here to the official site for even more uses of this service, which exists in both free and premium ($5) formats, or hit the jump for a more in depth look at a few solutions I've been extremely satisfied with.
Top 5 Non-Electronic Gaming Moments of 2008
Alright, it's been awhile since I typed in here. I notice that in my absence Chris has re-papered the green room, the snacks are a little better and there's a weird little Vietnamese man in the bathroom who keeps handing me towels. Odd... in my absence, things seem to have gotten better.
I am unnerved by this.
Anyway, what have I been doing while I was away? Well, I have been writing for a certain tabletop gaming company with a particularly angsty reputation and creepy fan base. It may possibly rhyme with "Bright Brolf". Or "Blight Blolf". Or "Gravewight Gravewolf". Yes, I've been writing away at vampires. Like you, Iiiiiiii wasssss oooooonce a maaaaan. Oh well. I'll just go on ahead and sadly admit that unlike the rest of the Weekly Geeks, I am more interested in tabletop than video games. I'm like the Spiritomb on the team of Pikachus.
Be warned: you're about to read some of the geekiest words ever written. I hope you enjoy them.
5. The Vampire Clanbooks
Technically, this should be higher on the list, but I can't in all good conscience put it higher because I assisted in making them. Apparently I'm told this is "Journalistic Integrity" but the truth is that I'm just incredibly embarrassed. Saying you work on Vampire: The Requiem is almost like admitting you write the letters for Penthouse Forum.
There's one thing you need to know about the Vampire: The Requiem series: you should never be seen reading them in public, ever. I made the mistake of reading one on the bus once, and this weird, creepy guy dressed in black with all these strange buckles all over the place sat next to me and started talking. The worst part was he had a teardrop tattoo under his eye. I hadn't the nerve to tell him that I doubted he actually killed a man in prison, but I figured that I might be wrong, and the worst sort of thing you want to say to somebody with a teardrop eye tattoo is that you doubt they killed somebody. What if I'm wrong? He could have shanked me right there with a sharpened spoon or something.
Anyway, creepy guy just started talking. Endlessly. He started telling me about his character and how awesome it was and then he started telling me he was a poet and he just went on to his hopes and dreams right there. Oh, and to make matters worse, he told me that The Temple of the Vampire was always looking for recruits. Then he left.
Eep.
Anyway, turns out my hometown of Olympia is the home of the "Temple of the Vampire," and now I'm just kind of weirded out about the whole thing. They could be watching me type this right now with a Palantir. Don't they know that's a bad idea? Sauron could be watching!
So, yes, the clanbooks. White Wolf's experiment in awesome. These puppies are slick: full color, 90% artifact text, no tedious rules-crunch to get in the way, and while you're reading them you forget they're gaming books. They are really clever, well written vampire novels. The gimmick is that these are supposed to be the "dossiers" of various young vampires trying to unravel the secrets of their clans, which are basically a White Wolf specific trope that divides "vampires" into "five different kinds of vampires," each with a separate history and origin story. I think it's neat.
These books are gorgeous. I cannot stress that enough. They shine as something really special from across the gaming store. If you like vampires but have never played Requiem, these are still readable alone. That's how weird and awesome they are.
4. Legend of the Five Rings 3.0
L5R is a unique case in the history of tabletop. It started out as a collectible card game, a bit like Magic: The Gathering, but M:tG is based on Dungeons and Dragons, a tabletop game. L5R flipped that. The L5R tabletop is exquisite, full of tons of elegant and simple maneuvers that make a really special game. L5R 2.0 was owned by Wizards of the Coast, and the idea was that they'd take the L5R universe and turn it into a d20 showcase project, revamping the Gygax-written "Oriental Adventures" module for the 90s.
Unfortunately, New Oriental Adventures turned out to be a disaster. They combined the d10 "Roll and Keep" rules of the first edition with the new d20 rules, printing them side by side, in possibly the most confusing corebook ever devised. So confusing, in fact, that I refused to play, despite loving the setting and the player-driven background. It was just too confusing.
Thankfully, somehow, Wizards of the Coast let L5R go, and shortly thereafter 3.0 was written. The Samurais-and-Sorcery genre was reborn. I cannot stress how much I love this game, it's seriously the most beautiful and well-designed game I have ever played. The rules are whip-snap-quick to learn, and feature a unique "Raise" system, where players can wager points in exchange for doing something really cool/epic (like kung fu moves, summoning kami, etc.). It is really amazing and I suggest it to any new tabletop player. It works splendidly.
3. Dungeons and Dragons 4.0
Again, a persnickety spot to place this one, but this is a really special entry. The oldest rpg in existence got it's 4th iteration this year, and it has basically become the most contentious thing in non-video gaming history ever.
Basically, blame it on World of Warcraft. For the first time, Wizards of the Coast was facing the first real threat from video gaming, something that hasn't ever really been a problem. Traditionally, video gamers and tabletop players are the same people, so what happens in one doesn't necessarily affect the other, but WoW really did bite into Dungeons and Dragons' player base. I, personally, noticed it pretty early on. My players were calling in, saying they couldn't play, they were raiding. I had no problem with it, since I can always play a game even if it's with one player. That said, weird situations started to creep in, and it seems that Wizards of the Coast noticed it fast. White Wolf responded by buying the rights to the World of Warcraft tabletop, which is sort of lamebrained when you think about it. Who wants to play a tabletop of a video game (and vice versa, they're just not really popular)?
Wooza wuzza, the end result of D&D 4.0 turned out to be a bit odd. Things were a little bit more archetypical, and a little less full of Gygax-isms. The Bard was gone, the most notable change, my favorite class.
I like Bards, and I need to digress here while I explain why I do. If you don't know what a Bard is, a Bard is a D&D class that completely, utterly and absolutely destroys the concept of the Rogue. They cancel each other out. The Rogue is a sneaky, silent but deadly killer that specializes in scouting and stabbing other people in the back. The Bard is loud, obnoxious and largely incapable of doing anything with any degree of subtlety whatsoever. Players of Bards and players of Rogues generally have diametrically opposed gaming styles and, to be honest, both of us are completely annoying to the more "normal" players who like to play Fighters or Wizards. We're the "flavor" classes.
The Bards of 3.5 were a sort of cuddlefied version of the Epic Bard, a prestige class from the original AD&D, which required a character to have 15 levels in both Fighter and Wizard. Generally, that's at least a 6 year long campaign character. The theory behind the Epic Bard was that he'd old and has seen everything there is to see, so the character steps back a bit and leads other characters to glory. Fair enough. The 3.5 Bards, however, were generally loutish, deliberately zany characters that had the advantage of the Bardic Knowledge skill, which basically turned the character into a walking encyclopedia. Every single time I played one I ended up leading the party, but basically just because I was the only one who had the faintest idea where we were supposed to go in the first place, and 99% of the fun I had was in keeping the Rogues from doing their jobs. Oh, they hated me. And I loved that they hated me.
I'm not against 4.0, in fact, I hold the weird belief that just because the publisher has moved on doesn't mean the books need to be taken off the shelf and burned. I look forward to playing 4.0 and maybe trying something new. Still, I miss you, Bardy McBarderson. May Valhalla treat you well.
2. The "New" and "Improved" Settlers of Catan Miniatures
They can't all be gold, folks, and this one just boggles my mind. I saw these the other day at the gaming shop and my head hurt. Basically, imagine the simple, brilliant grace of Settlers of Catan, that quirky and Germanic board (or is it tile?) game, only mixed with the idiotic "Cranked to 11" aesthetic of Warhammer 40k. It's a set of miniatures for your Catan game that look vaguely like all those little bits and pieces of metal and plastic that are glued to the model of the Millennium Falcon. Nobody really knows what they are supposed to be, they don't contribute anything to the game, and you're supposed to take time out of your precious day playing video games, smoking illegal stimulants and fucking to put them together.
Well, maybe not the last one, since the sort of people who would enjoy this aren't likely to get much at all. Funnily enough though, every guy I've ever met who likes Settlers of Catan is in a relationship, since it's common knowledge that women like this game. That's a certifiable fact that you can take to the bank. You know the fastest way to remove that demographic from the game?
Mix it with a miniatures game.
Miniatures = virgins. Proven. Women hate miniatures, you will never see a woman anywhere within 500 feet of a Games Workshop unless there's a Bath and Body Works immediately adjacent, and introducing miniatures into your cross-demographic game is only dooming it. Seriously.
God damn do I hate miniatures players.
1. The Death of Gary Gygax and the Retirement of Monte Cook
Really, both are sad but when slammed together they make a supernova of depressing news that is unheard of in the whole of gaming history. I don't know what I can really write about it except both are really sad and we can only hope somebody jumps in and takes the mantle for themselves. That sad, likely not.
Caption Contest Winner!
I'm happy to announce the winner for our caption contest for Hamburgerpanda's Manabot and Robotee print is...
WANTED, with the following caption, "Dad, I don't think this is what they had in mind when the court issued protective custody."
Huzzah and congratulations! WANTED, I will be contacting you via e-mail for your address so I can ship you the print. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Top 5 Games of 2008
Despite how much we whine on the show about the glut of game sequels and the overabundance of shovelware, this year was definitely the best year for video games in recent memory. We saw giant sequel-mills who typically churn out crud actually make decent new IPs, co-op and online multiplayer really hit its stride, music games lived up to their promises as expandable platforms with DLC. Handhelds and downloadable titles kept in step with bigger boxed releases, and indie gaming finally got the attention it deserved. So what does everyone from The Weekly Geek feel was the best of the best? I asked everyone on staff to select five of their favorite releases from 2008 and while a few titles persist, some choices surprise. This week's podcast is all about our individual top five lists, and be sure to check out all The Weekly Geek writers lists as well after the jump.
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Hamburgerpanda Manabot and Robotee Print Giveaway - Caption Contest Last Day
The caption contest for Hamburgerpanda's Manabot and Robotee print ends tonight at 10 PM (PST)!
Some lucky participant can win this adorable, geeky print simply by submitting a caption to go with the very print we are giving away! Those two have to be having an interesting conversation.
In addition, the Hamburgerpanda store is offering free shipping in the US for all Weekly Geek shoppers. Be sure to mention "Weekly Geek" at checkout until December 25 and the cost of shipping will be refunded to you.
What is "Hamburgerpanda", anyway? Cindy Yep, the creator and mastermind behind the concept, notes on her site "Because pandas eat only bamboo, it's the one panda searching for a different flavor."
Now is your chance to win a print with a robot manatee on it. I don't think it gets any geekier than that. The most hilarious, poignant or otherwise most creative caption will be chosen today. Now, go forth and post (or check out some recent entries)!
Competitive Gaming? No Thanks.
I finally got around to watching The King of Kong, Ed Cunningham and Seth Gordon's masterful documentary (now available via live streaming) that appears to have already been seen by every person I've talked to following my delayed viewing. While a great film with themes that transcend the tight focus on an ultra-niche community, and successfully promotes the spectacle of competitive gaming, it is centered on a concept that I've yet to care for; the ambition of playing a game to be the best.
Achievement in any gaming medium should be recognized whether it's a top slot in a leader board or custom tailored statue but there is a distinct difference immediately noticeable when even a single member of a co-op game is in it purely For The Win - a tangible tone I genuinely understand but can't relate to. These are the people that criticized my DPS choice in a WoW raid (NSFW), lambasted my preference of class in TF2, and sternly reduced immersive game play experiences to little more than a calculated sequence of events. Every once in a while an addictive flash game will catch my eye and eventual perusal of the Top Scores will reveal firm placement in the bottom of the standings, minuscule personal best crushed under staggering multiples laughing downwards at my feeble attempts. I enjoyed making my bunny jump those bells, my towers massacre those filthy insects, and I'm comfortable with the lack of compulsion to excel.
Yeah, sometimes I'll loose a steady brace of machine gun fire at a horde encircling a teammate's pipe bomb in Left 4 Dead, it's an easy way to rack up head shots and kills, but motivations more closely concern placement at the bottom of the leader boards (I kind of suck) than the top. I'm playing the game to kill some zombies, interact with some friends, and maybe get in a quick round of propane tank jousting. Even against human opponents this is enough, the mere act of mutual enjoyment.
There's a biblical quote thrown out in The King of Kong:
"As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another."
I'll always prefer lifting with a spotter, running with someone that's faster, or collaborating in an effort where there's a clear schism in skill level. That difference often breeds startling improvement, but I'll never be able to use the competitive spirit to fuel my bowling game or zombie killing tactics.
What have your groups been doing in Left 4 Dead or otherwise? Do you skirt every witch, avoid every car alarm? Make a mad rush for the safe house or linger for one more juicy brain-meat rainbow to erupt from the business end of your shotgun?
Me, I go for that rainbow.
Podcast for 12.08.08 | but the screen was much smaller
User-generated racism, existential crises and Xbox Live shenanigans await you in this installment of The Weekly Geek. Qais, Ross, Jinny and I participate in a discussion most interesting regarding topics you may be interested in. In addition to the aforementioned items, we also discuss Time magazine's top 10 games of 2008, the new Mirror's Edge DLC, how Left 4 Dead is not Halo, and how Banjo-Kazooie makes me sad. Also we announce a contest and open the mailbag! Enjoy it, please.
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continue reading "Podcast for 12.08.08 | but the screen was much smaller"
Hamburgerpanda Manabot and Robotee Print Giveaway - Caption Contest
It is with great sadness that I announce this caption contest for Hamburgerpanda's Manabot and Robotee print because I really wanted to keep this for myself. Some lucky participant can win this adorable, geeky print simply by submitting a caption to go with the very print we are giving away! Those two have to be having an interesting conversation.
In addition, the Hamburgerpanda store is offering free shipping in the US for all Weekly Geek shoppers. Be sure to mention "Weekly Geek" at checkout until December 25 and the cost of shipping will be refunded to you.
What is "Hamburgerpanda", anyway? Cindy Yep, the creator and mastermind behind the concept, notes on her site "Because pandas eat only bamboo, it's the one panda searching for a different flavor."
Now is your chance to win a print with a robot manatee on it. I don't think it gets any geekier than that. The most hilarious, poignant or otherwise most creative caption will be chosen on Friday, Dec. 12th. Now, go forth and post!
Ask Dr. Helmig #16: "Four-Step Process"
Prince of Persia: First Impressions
It was my first time. Of course I was the only nervous one, fingers slick with sweat and brow furrowed in concentration. I instinctively knew what went where and how movement translated to results but at the same time didn't take the situation seriously. I was young and wanted to play.
As it happened my maiden voyage with a laptop coincided with my first exposure to Prince of Persia. While many of the details have been fogged by time, perhaps for the better, I do recall being particularly fond of that monochrome puzzle game with its falling tiles, fatal pitfalls, and limber protagonist. In all honesty this was not only the first time I participated in the franchise but also the last.
Having only recently returned to console gaming I've watched silently as nine iterations have appeared over the last two decades and it wasn't until I saw the leaked concept art that the saliva started to flow. I'd catch trailers as they were released, each exposure instilling fresh anticipation, but it was the latest that ensured my preorder (HD download here).
I fell in love with the rendition of a sprawling cityscape, tattered windmills turning with the promise of better times, and elegantly domed towers reaching up as fingers from a shallow grave. The path ahead was thick with wooden beams, mundane avenues all but forgotten hundreds of feet below.
Today I got to play it.
More Like Ten Shitloads
America: innovating in chainsaw/assault rifle chimeric technology since 2008. Fuck Yeah.
Podcast for 12.01.08 | Wake up, Crono!
Back from break with lots of gaming under our collective belts, this week's show features me, Jinny, Ross and Ryan talking about the latest Street Fighter 2 iteration, whether or not the new Prince of Persia is going to sell any copies being released so late in the season, Left 4 Dead being completely awesome (well, almost completely), Nintendo game counselors, Chrono Trigger... it's just the usual assortment of random tangents and geeky discussion you've come to know and tolerate. Plus, there's mailbag. So that's a bonus.
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Super Street Fighter II HD Remix Disconnect
Like all good kids of the 80's and 90's, one of my favorite things to do was to stay indoors on sunny days, avoid mowing the lawn, and play Street Fighter II on the SNES against my little sister. I was horrible at the game, but not quite as horrible as her, so I got a pretty good self esteem boost out of beating her senseless. We always stuck with Street Fighter II instead of Mortal Kombat (the two natural competitors at the time) because of its less realistic nature. It was a cartoon, an over-exaggerated spectacle of super powered fighters allowing me to dominate my little sister in a wholesome, non-violent way.
One of the most anticipated Xbox Live Arcade releases this year for me is also one of the most disappointing. As it sometimes happens, the hype for a game builds and builds until release, ultimately letting you down. I've been watching the screenshots and new art come out of Capcom for Super Street Fighter II HD Remix (SSFIIHDR, unless you're not a fan of the whole brevity thing). The game is essentially a carbon copy of the original Super Street Fighter II we remember from the 16 bit days, but with hand drawn sprites displayed in high definition. As screenshots emerged, fans drooled at the gorgeous new art depicting their favorite characters. But it always struck me as a little off, something just wasn't right about it. When the game was finally released last week it hit me: there is a massive disconnect between the way I remember the characters and the way they have been redrawn.
The game was pitched as redrawn. That is to say, the sprite scaling was matched by the artists, essentially traced to give more definition. The playable character sprites and the character portraits (along with all of the level backgrounds, etc) were redrawn completely to scale. The problem with this is that when the art was made for the 16 bit version, they were attempting to create the look and feel of each individual character based on the portrait using the limited pixel definition of the 16 bit era. Lots of visual shorthand was used, and characters were simplified. This wouldn't usually be an issue if the artist were skilled and knew the characters well, they would just add more detail, right? Look at a character like Dhalsim in-game. His portrait (and what we know of his character design from later games in the series) portrays him as a sickly-thin yogi. His playable character art, being based off of the 16 bit version, looks way too beefy in the chest. All of the characters just look vastly different than their portraits, making it obvious that different artists worked on these portions of the game without really communicating with each other.
But the biggest disconnect for me was the fact that the framerate is completely the same as the 16 bit version. Sure, the sprites have been redrawn, but every single character animation is the same 4 frame animation as it was before. This has a surprising effect on the newly redrawn sprites. Instead of looking shiny and fresh in HD the low framerate actually breaks the experience and makes it look completely dated. I almost think that it makes it look more dated than if they went the completely opposite route and inserted more frames of animation into the game and used the original 16 bit sprites.
It feels a little lackluster to me. At the very least it feels more like cheap nostalgia pandering, a way to get me to buy yet another version of Street Fighter. With at least 500 different versions out there (give or take 400) I am not sure if this is the definitive one. Anyone else notice the disconnect?
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