Game Review: Prince of Persia (360)

Hey all-

I had a tough time with this game at first... a third-person platformer/ adventure game comes with its own genre standards for controls, while the makers of Prince of Persia seemed to take a step back and rethink. In a genre that typically combines precision aiming, 3D awareness, button choices, and timing for navigation, as well as an equally intense set of combat and exploration equipment controls, PoP decided to throw out a few elements; Reflecting on it after completing the experience, I think I can understand why... they've boldly tried to redefine the "game hero" experience, opening its accessibility to a broader audience and moving 3rd person gameplay forward into the next generation.

First, let's get some criticism out of the way... if my opinion of the game was formed on my first 30 minutes, I would have never played it again. By changing the "formula" of 3rd-person navigation controls to focus more on timing of streamlined choices, I was thrown off. Frustrated. But more on this below. As for combat, although its cinematic moments were often amazing, I never could get used to the eventual monotony and passive style of combat... I wanted to attack, not wait for a predetermined pattern. As for story, for the first half of the game I didn't really buy the chemistry between the Prince and his cooperative "damsel in distress" partner, Elika. And most importantly, I never felt like I knew the final boss well enough to be scared of him, leaving the final encounter to be kinda empty.

All that being said, don't let the bad stuff cloud the great lessons the game has to offer. The first thing to consider is our innate mental image of a "hero". A hero, if flawed at all, is flawed in his choices. Moments that reveal his human soul. But generally speaking, he's a hero in the first place because of immaculate physical accomplishments... in this case, our hero is an agile, acrobatic, and deadly explorer. Someone we're supposed to believe in. But in the case of most video games, when we (as designers) throw too many variables and demand too much out of the average player, our main character has a corresponding awkwardness. If we were watching that character in real life it would be agonizing... running into walls, forgetting how to duck at the wrong time, missing an easy jump 5 times in a row, swinging in the opposite direction of a stationary enemy at point blank range... embarrassing! There's a conflict between the ideal image of a hero in our minds, and the fumbling hero we control in front of our eyes.

And that's where PoP shines... by dramatically reducing some of the "precision" elements of aiming, timing, and choice, then leaving generous windows of opportunity and the forgiveness of "saving" the character when failing a jump, it allows the player to effortlessly do the things a hero should do: gracefully flow from one death-defying acrobatic challenge to the next. Hardcore gamers might dismiss the erasure of pixel-perfect precision, but I think that challenge can easily be shifted to other design elements to compensate. Instead, we get to slip easier into the fantasy of our superhero alter-ego, and take for granted the skills that made him a superhero in the first place.

But the most revealing moment for me was not within the game itself, but after finishing, when I popped in a couple older 3D platforming games that used to be my favorites. They now feel completely unplayable. This is how you know a new bar has been set... when you can't imagine going back. Congratulations and thanks to the PoP team for getting closer to the essence of a hero... I hope more developers will follow in your footsteps, and hope Ubi will continue to polish the new Prince of Persia experience.

Laughter is the Best Medicine...

... except after oral surgery. :) 

Oh, the  joys of painful dental work. I have nothing against dentists, but recovering from oral surgery has its challenges. The first week's experience was liquid diet, a puffy chipmunk cheek, trippy painkillers, 14 hours of sleep a day, strange Daffy-Duck-meets-Elmer-Fudd noises when I tried to talk, and the inability to laugh without quickly resorting to crying about 10 seconds later (it hurts). 

To make the situation even more awkward, my girlfriend and I were coincidentally diagnosed with the same issue and procedure... and more for practicality than any kind of quirky romantic reasons, we decided to have the same surgeries a week apart from each other. Complications aside, this should allow us to be able to chew turkey together, just in time for the holidays. 

Outside of the physical discomfort, the hardest part for me personally has been having to attend a job interview while recovering. Having to apologize to a group of strangers for any unintentional grimaces, lisps, or drooling was a humbling experience. 

On my girlfriend's side, however, the hardest part has been my unintended habit of making her laugh. I consider it one of my life's missions to make her happy, and since recovering the ability to speak, I find myself exercising the right joke regularly. It always happens before I realize I've done it, just saying a little something to make her smile... I look up when I hear her muffled chuckle, and am reminded of the surgery at the sight of her puffy, scrunched up, I'm-laughing-and-crying-I-love-you-I-hate-you face, usually followed by a series of light slaps to make me stop. I didn't mean it! 

I'm sure glad she loves me. 

Game Review: Mirror's Edge (360)

Hey all-

Although this is a photography blog, as the game industry is my day job, I can't help but speak up when I see something remarkable. Mirror's Edge is a new "next-gen" title (which I played on XBox 360) that in a refreshing way manages to move the industry's controversial first-person perspective into innovative new territory. By focusing on the creative acrobatics of parkour (French for "the art of movement", anything-goes urban freestyle running, climbing, jumping, landing), it brings us one small step closer to the inevitable realization of sci-fi virtual reality, and the truly immersive freedom of movement it implies. It also attempts to avoid (optionally) the action-oriented gunplay the game industry is more commonly known to produce. And although not perfect, it successfully overcomes the design and technical challenges inherent to both experiences. 

First off, some background on where the praise is coming from. While working at Retro Studios, we were challenged with a basic problem... how to make the largely unenjoyable mechanic of plain old jumping in first-person games fun. It was made even more complicated by developing on a home game console (Gamecube), which meant playing without traditional mouse-and-keyboard input, implying less responsive steering or "look" control. Part of the issue was in level design, where most games tended to force players to perfectly nail a maximized jump, or suffer dire consequences (so stressful!). And part of the issue was perspective: without peripheral vision (game cameras tend to have narrow field of view), how does the player keep accurate track of where the end of a ledge is, or where his/ her feet are, or where the target platform is? It was tricky, and it took a long time to find a set of solutions, including more forgiving and consistent level use, combined with subtle automatic camera movements that mimic the human eye in real-life jumps. It was a lot of hard work, but the reward came in watching players enjoy a new level of accessibility in freedom of movement. 

And so I have the utmost respect for DICE, a team that not only also tackled our old 1st-person jumping problem, but has with large success also nailed freestyle wallrunning, jumping, climbing, and landing. At its highest points, the player can string together a smooth flow of continuous hops, slides, leaps, and rolls... pausing for a moment with near-vertigo at a rooftop ledge overlooking the cityscape, just seconds before sprinting headlong into a daredevil leap between buildings. To aid the player, camera movements can be quick when most needed (like an immediate turn-around usually only featured in 3rd-person games), target jumping platforms & landing spots are highlighted with "runner vision" color, and a forgiving "ledge grab" gives a dramatic chance to recover in case you come up a little short on your death-defying leap. 

And next, for a public often wary of the typical 1st-person image of guns blazing, it's a breath of fresh air to experience a game where gunplay is not only optional, but the player is even rewarded for avoiding it. Even with the added challenge, I found myself learning to master the art of avoidance, non-lethal disarmament, and just plain running away, rather than shooting the opposition. For that matter, they probably could have made this game without the ability to shoot at all, and nobody would have noticed. 

Although the game is rarely perfect in execution, there are times when the experience gives a taste of the graceful athletic freedom and thrill a rooftop runner might feel. The difficulty in timing and anticipation to pull off those moments, and the repetitive play often required to get to that level, could almost be described as a contemporary Super Mario Brothers. I can understand if this game's not for everyone, but for those of you also in the industry, take note: you're playing a glimpse of the future. Class, this is required reading. :) 

Since Moving to Seattle...

Hey all-

Since moving up to Seattle almost 2 years ago, I've been keeping the camera skills active not just with international trips (most recently to China, Belgium, and Mexico), but also by exploring all the fun things this new city has to offer. 

The Pacific Northwest is truly a beautiful place... within a few minutes of home there are endless cafes, live music, festivals, museums, interesting restaurants, and a more interesting international collection of people. Within a few hours of home you can be climbing a mountain, snowshoeing, whitewater rafting, hiking through a rainforest, camping on the beach, visiting wineries and orchards, or watching for whales in Puget Sound. It's fantastic. 

So, I hope you enjoy these photos up on Flickr, just a small taste of the Northwest, with a personal touch so you can see what I've been up to since moving (in chronological order):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/behrphoto/sets/72157607387717223/

China 2008 Photos Up!

Hey all-

I've posted the top 20 photos from my May 2008 China trip on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/behrphoto/sets/72157606190969248/

Also, more good news. I'll be displaying some photos at the local "Whidbey's Cafe" in Mukilteo, WA in January. Hopefully more showings to come!

Book Report: Light at the Edge of the World

Hey all-

Just finished an interesting book called "Light at the Edge of the World", by anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wade Davis. After attending a Seattle lecture by Mr. Davis, as a part of the National Geographic Society's "Live!" series, I had a chance to speak with him briefly and pick up a copy of his book.

(can see here on Amazon)

Davis makes a compelling argument that cultural diversity is not only being diminished, but it is just as important to preserve for the human race as biological or ecological diversity. Through careful storytelling of his experiences as an observing anthropologist, he shows exactly how important a culture is: another culture is not simply an interesting list of different faces, clothing, and traditions, but it's another reality; another ingrained way of thinking about our world and set of possibilities for our future.  When a culture dies, it's not just a sad inevitability of modernization... it's a tragic, forced-upon, avoidable loss of another way of thought and life. And to put in measurable terms, he uses the number of languages worldwide reaching extinction, as a scientific method of illustrating a culture disappearing. 

Davis gives several examples of indigenous societies that modern people might call "backwards", of how through their unique language, tradition, and application of human potential, they've achieved far superior and useful knowledge of their environment, both physically and spiritually. But because of their indigenous status, they are too often looked down upon, and forced to change past the breaking point that their culture can absorb. Davis provides examples where even with good intentions, modern countries have forced entire populations into destitute poverty and unique emptiness that occurs when generations of inherited way of life are wiped out. 

I highly recommend the book on many levels. First, many of the stories will simply amaze you at how interesting, richly complex, and accomplished many "simple" cultures actually are. Second, it makes you ponder the causes and consequences of these cultures being lost. The book culminates in the final chapters, giving new light as to why something like Tibet's invasion is tragic for the entire human race, but also providing hope for the future, in how we deal with threatened cultures to come. 

My first post!

It took me a few years, but... I'm finally getting around to starting a blog. A place to keep all my crazy travel adventures, inspirations, and other experiences. But before I dive right in... first things first! 

Eventually, this blog will be linked back & forth with my official photography website: 

http://www.behrphoto.com

Although my website generally has my "best of" collection, another great place to see photos is my Flickr account, where I place expanded travel photo collections. Check it out here: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/behrphoto/

Enjoy! 

J