Terra Battle Basics - Part 1

Here is my debut episode for my video series that will walk new players through strategies for playing the mobile game, Terra Battle. I've been playing Terra Battle for over 2 years, and the game has changed a lot over that period of time. Many of those changes have added complexity and breadth to the kinds of things you can do in the game. As such, I imagine new Terra Battle players might be a little overwhelmed with the onslaught of modes pulling their attention and precious stamina points in all directions. My first episode here just focuses on the basics of the battle system: how to move characters, arrange pincer attacks, and trigger chain combos that fire unique skills. Look for more episodes in the coming weeks.

Blips: Framing Devices

Source: The limits of play (part 1) & (part 2)
Author: Jonas Linderoth
Site: YouTube

I stumbled across this video presentation the other day by University of Gothenburg professor Jonas Linderoth on why it feels like games have a difficult time tackling serious subject matter. He explains that the way an object is framed in a game is always a layer removed and abstracted from what we understand that object to be outside of the game. The example he gives is one where kids are playing a game with an old shoe he had provided them, using the shoe as a kind of "ball" where it was important to have possession of it. In the game, his shoe had taken on a totally different significance that what it had before, and in turn, also lost a lot of other context. The kids don't know Linderoth's personal history with the shoe, and the stories that could be told of where it had been and how it fits on his foot. Instead, the shoe has taken on a ludic meaning that sees it as a prized possession and a means to winning the game.

Now, the kicker is to substitute the shoe in the kids game with objects that carry broad historical and cultural weight; Linderoth settles on a Nazi flag as an example. Casting an object that represents thoughts and actions that most people find reprehensible in the role of an important and, in the game context, sacred item is likely to shock and offend. Linderoth explains that the reframing of an object in the game world inherently trivializes it, and it's up to game designers to provide proper framing to convey the meaning they're going for while also recognizing the limits of virtual representation. While I think Linderoths use of the phrase "getting away with it" pessimistically assumes designers are out to slip one past the censors, his given paths to healthy solutions are nonetheless valid.

One of those solutions is satire, which has been popping up quite a bit as it relates to Grand Theft Auto V. What happens when segments of players don't buy into the explanation they've been given as to why they should be OK with the ludic meanings attached to certain game objects? What happens when someone calls BS on your game as satirical commentary? I suppose what happens is there's a certain level of backlash, but in the case of GTA5, the overwhelming wave of critical praise, consumer buy-in, and in-game expanse swallows up the push-back. Perhaps that will change as we get further and further away from the buzz of GTA5's launch, but it also feels like the impact has already happened and the damage done.

Blips: "Video" Games

Source: Hyper Mode: Videogame The Movie
Author: Maddy Myers
Site: Paste

The video game / film comparison topic has been making the rounds again in the wake of The Last of Us. I've already highlighted a handful of essays on the debate, but today Paste ran a piece by Maddy Myers that put an interesting spin on the issue by considering gameplay narrative in light of YouTube videos that compile cutscenes from games and present them as "movies." Myers points to cyberpunk action game Remember Me as an example of a game that, despite its other problems, managed to fuse cinematics and interactivity with its hacking scenes in a way that incorporates the strengths of both simultaneously. It's telling that these YouTube "movie" editors included these hacking sequences despite the fact that they're actually "gameplay."

Myers also makes a strong point against quantifying gameplay as a measure of game-ness. Just because those hacking scenes in Remember Me don't involve direct character and camera control the way the action portions do, doesn't diminish they're value as part of a game. Expansive control and choice in games are not interesting systems in themselves, and neither are linear, cinematically driven quick-time events. The game is the framework that holds everything together and turns those systems into worthwhile experiences, or doesn't. There's something to playing games, even ones dominated by non-interactive cutscenes that you don't get from watching them in video form. The different parts inform one another as part of a unified experience, making cutscene compilations inherently out of context.

Blips: Let's Play - Ad Sales

Source: Let's Plays, Nintendo and the Audacity of Monetization
Author: Jenn Frank
Site: Gameranx

When I first heard about Nintendo using YouTube's Content ID system to tag videos featuring their games, I figured it was within the company's rights. So, Nintendo wants to make their own ad revenue from people sharing videos of Nintendo games. I get it. That's what Content ID was built for. It all makes sense on a corporate finance and intellectual property safekeeping perspective.

It even seemed that indie developers who voiced pro-Let's Play opinions only held that stance because they're from smaller companies, looking for promotion and word of mouth wherever they can get it. Nintendo isn't that desperate for attention, right? They have an ad budget. They don't need this kind of grassroots publicity to move units. At least that's what their actions are communicating.

Jenn Frank's piece for Gameranx sums up the situation nicely. While Nintendo is within their legal, if judicially untested, rights, using YouTube Content ID to take ad sales away from Let's Play commentators and direct them their way is bad for the company's image, which could be bad for their bottom line in the long run. Nintendo's actions are especially surprising given the warm reception Fire Emblem: Awakening received earlier this year, praise largely spread by word of mouth. This kind of bottom-up campaign is one of the things Let's Play videos do best and make more convincing arguments for certain products than TV or web ads.

With a struggling Wii U on their hands, Nintendo shouldn't overlook the goodwill that can be earned with popular YouTubers. While only well-informed enthusiasts will really follow this news, plenty of casual gamers like to peruse YouTube for videos of games before making purchase decisions. If fewer Let's Play videos of Nintendo games are on YouTube as a result of this Content ID move, Nintendo only has themselves to blame.