Blips: Surplus Reading

Source: Marginalia 8
Author: Joel Goodwin
Site: Electron Dance

PSA: there will not be any new Low Cutoff posts next week. Sad, I know, but I have to take the week off for personal reasons. Luckily for you, dear reader, GDC is also happening next week, so most of the game community will be focused on that. To that effect, today I wanted to point you in the direction of some reading to fill the void until Low Cutoff's triumphant return. Joel Goodwin periodically compiles these Marginalia posts over at Electron Dance as collections of links, curated from various game developers and critics. This time around, he's enlisted Amanda Lange, Ben Serviss, Raph Koster, Tale of Tales, and Miguel Sicart (whom I just wrote about on Wednesday). Topics are all over the place, ranging from video game violence to user-generated levels, to TSA procedures. Yeah, that TSA. I'm sure you'll find at least a few of the articles interesting. Anyway, that's all for me; Low Cutoff will return on the 24th.

Blips: Together on the Island

Source: Counterweight 11: Miasmata
Author: Joel Goodwin
Site: Electron Dance

Hmm, another article about Miasmata, you say? Well, here you go. There's a new podcast up on Electron Dance where Joel Goodwin and Eric Brasure speak for an hour exclusively about the game, which Brasure finished just recently. Not only is it great to see people talking about Miasmata (sometimes it feels like Goodwin and I are the only ones), but the discussion itself is a great piece of video game criticism. The two podcasters trade stories about their encounters with the Creature, they're frustrations with certain mechanical systems, and their adoration for Miasmata's open-ended structure. Play Miasmata. Do it!

I appreciated this honest discussion because it's easy to put on my blinders when thinking about a game that I enjoyed so much. Goodwin and Brasure don't pull any punches about Miasmata's shortcomings though. I really latched onto Brasue's point about how he'd have preferred less contextual storytelling, and more general mystery. There are ruins scattered throughout the island that are never really addressed in the game; they're simply ancient structures, looming as totems of an unknown civilization. What if the scientists cottages were given that same treatment instead of dotting them with journal entries and chalkboard scrawlings? To be honest though, I got a kick out of that stuff, and the fact that it might have been a little campy didn't take away from the experience at all. In fact, that was my big takeaway from Goodwin and Brasures podcast: Miasmata is a great, unique game with some flaws, but none that detract from the core essence of the experience.

Blips: What It Is

Source: No Alternative, 1
Author: Joel Goodwin
Site: Electron Dance

I really enjoyed this piece on Electron Dance about whether certain game developers creating experiences on the fringes of what we consider "games" actually want their works to be seen as games. The reason this speaks to me is because the answers that developers like Ed Key (Proteus), Dan Pinchbeck (Dear Esther), and the Tale of Tales team are the reason I've returned to games with such fervor and enthusiasm. For me, these kinds of games are both the most interesting games and some of the most interesting contemporary art being produced. Part of this reason is the way games are distributed, and their more accessible nature.

Here's the thing; "art" is a neutering label while "game" remains a bit of a taxonomical battleground. Imagine if Dumb Starbucks was considered a game instead of performance art. There's an earnestness to the "game" label, where "art" applied to the same situation is viewed as a hoax (unless you're talking about ARGs, which are more complicated). Not that "game" couldn't become what "art" is now (it actually feels like it may be headed that way), but at the moment, games are seen to occupy a space that has a more open and honest relationship with those who engage with them. It's an ironic twist that when the artists behind horse_ebooks revealed themselves, they essentially "came clean" by releasing an FMV game. For artists, entering the game space is equivalent to "going legit," in that they're deciding to enter a space that is generally regarded as a front-facing commercial enterprise. Public performance art is the game you play without knowing it, but in "games," players are willing participants. It's no mystery which one has greater potential for generating a healthy relationship between artist and audience across the long-term.

Blips: Just Play Miasmata Already

Source: The Island
Author Joel Goodwin
Site: Electron Dance

With year-end list season upon us, my thoughts once again return to the exploration/survival game Miasmata. It's my favorite game from the past year (though it technically came out at the end of 2012) and I can't recommend it enough. Over at Electron Dance, Joel Goodwin seems to harbor similar feelings for the game, though perhaps I'm more gushing with compliments. Regardless, he's stated that Miasmata was the game that meant the most to him this past year, and I'm right there with him.

I interviewed designer Bob Johnson about the game earlier this year, which was research for a piece in Kill Screen magazine Issue 7. I also wrote about Miasmata and Proteus for the short-lived re/Action website, going in depth into how both games express themselves through their day/night transitions. Miasmata is a game rich with mineable material for criticism and interpretation, but also offers satisfying mechanics to engage with in the moment. I remember playing it and thinking how much it felt like the perfect ambassador to bridge triple-A and indie audiences. It's gorgeous, and comes from a small team. It has action and also introspective exploration. It's not handhold-y, but it tells you enough upfront. Miasmata feels exquisitely balanced, which is amazing because what you're doing from one hour to the next can have such hard swings. It's a machine that doesn't look like it should work, but it does. Oh man, does it work.

:image by Avery Campbell:

Blips: A Little Break

Hey there, you may have noticed that Low Cutoff is on a brief hiatus. Don't worry, we'll be back to normal posting midweek next week, but for now, I'm out of state working on a collaborative art installation that is taking up all of my time. I'll be back home on Wednesday next week, so look for things to return to normal on Thursday at the latest. Sorry for the interruption, but in the meantime, you might want to check out the latest Marginalia post on Electron Dance, which has a collection of posts that I was likely to highlight this week anyway. If that's not enough, check out Patrick Klepek's Worth Reading post on Giant Bomb. Have a good weekend!