The “Holy Grail” That is a Single Games Launcher
First off, the title of this post is meant with a liberal does of irony. Secondly, here is a left field anecdote that does have a bearing on the forthcoming discussion. I can remember going to the local Co-op Supermarket with my Mother circa 1975. A small selection of groceries were purchased. My Mother then went to pack the shopping when she realised that she didn’t have her regular shopping bag with her. If memory serves it was a typical seventies monstrosity made out of lurid coloured nylon. However she did have a plastic bag from a rival supermarket. I vividly remember the outrage this breach in social etiquette caused. Simply put, the Co-op did not like its products being put in the bag of a competitor. Needless to say, words were exchanged, there were red faces and indignation all round and we left after threatening to write a strongly worded letter to The Times.
A Month in Gaming
My gaming time was somewhat erratic throughout March. Therefore when I did log in to an MMO I tended to pursue daily repeatable activities and linear quests. Content that could be easily managed and did not require a great degree of planning or concentration. My High Elf Guardian in The Lord of the Rings Online is currently level 72 and the PVE content I’m playing through is about five or so levels below that, so unless I make an obvious mistake, the risk of “defeat” is not high. I’ve also used these short periods of gaming to do further inventory management in Star Trek Online. My current policy for surplus items is to either pass it on to an alt if possible, sell it via in game auctions or just vendor it. It’s remarkable the number of items you accrue in MMOs that you out grow or simply never get around to using. Outside of MMOs, I simply did some game installation housekeeping. It seems there’s always a patch that need to be downloaded and installed.
Ride Off Into the Sunset
“At some point, KTR and other MMO blogs mostly drifted from being MMO blogs. Some have remained pure, I am sure, but we became online gaming blogs, gaming blogs, online culture blogs, general blogs. And we gradually trailed off”. Zubon. Kill Ten Rats. And so another MMO blogger who has been part of the community “furniture” for years, decides that they’ve said everything they can upon the subject and that it’s time to move on. It’s a familiar story, one that I totally understand and can identify with. Passion waxes and wanes, scenes change, as do people. There comes a point where you don’t feel there’s anything left else to discuss or whether anyone is actually listening, except in Zubon’s case they definitely were. It’s always a shame to see a community stalwart go, but nothing remains the same forever.
A Lack of Excitement
“Do you still get excited about upcoming MMORPGs?” asked Massively Overpowered today. My first reaction was to say something flippant, so I left the following comment. “As I’ve got older, I’ve swapped excitement for schadenfreude. The ROI is far better”. However, upon mature reflection I think there’s more to this enquiry than meets the eye and that it requires a more thorough response. Because the more I think about it there seems to be a total lack of excitement from my perspective about any new MMORPG currently in development and more importantly, for those that I currently play. Both of which (The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online) have released a road map for the year ahead. Is a lack of any excitement indicative of an issue with me or with the genre of games that I have made a major part of my leisure time?
April Fool's Day
According to Wikipedia "April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (sometimes called All Fools' Day) is an annual celebration commemorated on April 1 by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April Fools". It appears to be a pan-european custom, with many countries having a broadly similar tradition of playing pranks of creating bogus events. However, little is known about the origins of April Fools and what was its initial historical or social meaning. April Fool’s Day is another tradition that has been subsumed into the mainstream over time. Today various websites, TV stations and newspapers will be churning out faux stories and photoshopped pictures in an attempt to be amusing and join in the "fun". All to varying degrees of success. It can be seen as either mildly amusing or yet another example of the Pavlovian, emotional push button culture that we live in these days. Organised "fun" run by big business, which is soulless, aimed at the lowest common denominator and often achieving the opposite of what is seeks to do.
Shane Rimmer (1929 - 2019)
The actor Shane Rimmer died yesterday at the age of 89. Born in Toronto, Canada, on 28th May 1929, Rimmer moved to London in the late 1950s to pursue his acting career. Over the next five decades, he appeared in numerous TV shows such as Doctor Who and The Saint, and in films including Dr Strangelove, Gandhi, Rollerball and Out of Africa. He starred in James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me and had smaller roles in Star Wars, Superman and Batman movies. If during the seventies and eighties, a British production needed someone to play an American character, he was a one of a handful of "go to" actors who would take the part. Rimmer and fellow US actor Ed Bishop (whose paths regularly crossed) jokingly referred to themselves a "Rent-a-Yanks” as a result of this.
Broadstairs and Eastbourne
At least once a month, Mrs P and I like to take a day trip and venture out away from suburban London, into the Southern counties of the UK. These excursions are mainly for leisure but they also serve as an opportunity to reconnoitre potential locations for a future move. As present we’re based in South East London, so a two-hour drive provides a wealth of interesting locations across Kent, East and West Sussex and Surrey. Travelling beyond these counties entails a longer drive and thus an overnight stay. Although we are not against such a thing, a simple day trip is more economical so is the more frequent choice. We like to visit English Heritage and National Trust sites, see local points of interest and natural beauty as well as try the local cuisine via local restaurants.
Why Am I Doing This?
"Why am I doing this?" is the question currently posed over at KeenandGraev.com and it certainly makes for some interesting introspection and personal reflection. Most gamers have at some point found themselves carrying out some arbitrary task in a game, pausing and then musing as to why they have chosen to do something as mundane and possibly even as tedious as “kill 10 rats” or “pick up nails” (yes, I’m looking at you LOTRO). Regardless of whether such mechanics are right or wrong, lazy or “classic”, grinding is an inherent aspect of most video games, especially the MMO genre. Players burn through narrative driven quest content far too quickly, therefore there has to be systems to slow player progress down and make then repeat content. However, the point of the original post isn’t to debate whether grinding is right or wrong. It’s about what you as a player do next when you finally ask yourself this question.
You Are Not the Intended Customer
After reading a lot of the recent coverage of Google Stadia, I find some of the comments and reactions from existing PC and console gamers just as “interesting” as the actual product itself. As for the basic concept of games running remotely at a datacentre, which does all the “heavy lifting”, we’ve been here before. On Live tried this in the UK back in 2009. They also had bespoke controllers just like Google Stadia but ultimately there was too many people in the UK at the time with low end internet connections, so the business failed. I believe Sony ended up buying all their patents. Obviously, technology has moved on in the last decade and certainly Google has more resources that it can bring to bear on the development of this product. But as I said, I find the way the news of this product was greeted to be of equal interest, because as ever core gamers are blinkered by their own erroneous perspective. They see themselves as the target demographic of any new service or game, which is not the case in this instance.
Larry Cohen (1936 - 2019)
Larry Cohen, the writer and director of such cult films as Black Caesar, It’s Alive and Q: The Winged Serpent, has died aged 77. Cohen was a key figure in the genre movie community during the seventies and eighties, as well as writing scripts and storylines for mainstream TV shows such as The Fugitive and Columbo. He was a rare beast, in so far as he became one of a few writers who became known to wider audiences and fans, and gathered a cult following over time. Guillermo del Toro hailed him as “a true iconoclast and independent” and Edgar Wright wrote thanked him “For so many fun high-concept genre romps with ideas bigger than the budgets, for so many truly inspiring cult movies”.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in Development
In recent years there has been a shift in position of both Middle-earth Enterprises and the Tolkien Estate. Saul Zaentz died in 2014 leading to a relaxing in licensing requirements and Christopher Tolkien stepped down as the director of his father’s estate in late 2017, further contributing to increased commercial use of Tolkien’s intellectual property. Since then we have learned that Athlon Games are developing a new MMORPG set in Middle-earth and that Amazon Prime is producing a major TV show set in the Second Age. It would appear that the firm grip that has prevailed over the last forty years is now waning and that Middle-earth Enterprises and the Tolkien Estate are more disposed towards expanding the reach and financial potential of the Tolkien franchise.
Changeling (2008)
Los Angeles, 1928. A single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) returns from work to find her nine-year-old son gone. She calls the LAPD who initiate a search. Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovitch) champions Mrs Collins cause and publicly criticises the LAPD for its endemic corruption and incompetence. Five months later, a boy is found in Illinois who fits the description of the missing boy, Walter. Captain J. J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan), the head of the LAPD's Juvenile Division, hoping to capitalise on a successful resolution to the case, organises a press conference when reuniting the Mrs Collins with her son. However, Christine quickly denies that the boy is Walter, stating that this child is three inches shorter than her own son. The authorities dismiss her claims and label her hysterical. Matters are further compounded when Mrs Collins joins Reverend Gustav in his public criticism of the police. The establishment subsequently closes ranks and attempts to intimidate and silence her.
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018)
Inside a dark, remote warehouse, seven members of an unnamed midwestern militia meet. They’ve all heard via radio or police scanners that an unnamed, armed shooter armed with a modified AR-15 has opened fire on a police funeral. The assailant also plant IEDs and the casualty rate is therefore very high. This means the authorities will be scouring the countryside, raiding all known militia groups and their affiliates in the region. The men’s concern quickly turns to panic when they discover that one of their AR-15 is missing from their weapons cache, along with body armour and explosives. Is one of their own the shooter? Ford (Chris Mulkey), the group’s no-nonsense leader, asks fellow member Gannon (James Badge Dale), a former police interrogator, to question all the men and determine who is responsible. However, matters prove more complicated as Gannon knows that one other member, Noah (Brian Geraghty), is an undercover cop. Can a solution be found before the police inevitably come calling?
In Time (2011)
Time is quite literally money in the movie In Time, starring Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who previously wrote Gattaca and S1m0ne which both had similar dystopian themes, we are presented with a chilling scenario. What if you had to spend minutes or hours or perhaps days of your life in the same way you spend money? The movie offers a future where the population is genetically programmed to stop aging at twenty-five. If you're rich enough, you can purchase and trade this commodity, adding time to your life, making you effectively immortal. For the poor, the future is a far bleaker with most dying within a year of this hardcoded end date. Every transaction comes with a price in minutes and seconds.
The Mule (2018)
Clint Eastwood is 88 years old and has a successful career spanning over six decades. During that time he has proved to be one of America’s most bankable box office stars and established himself as an actor and director of note among his peers. If The Mule turns out to be his swansong, then it is certainly a fitting end to a prestigious career. Because in many respects The Mule is a distillation of many of the themes and concepts, we’ve seen in previous Eastwood movies such as Gran Torino and The Unforgiven. Perhaps the core story of an ageing man trying to reconcile himself to a modern world and make peace with it, is in some way Eastwood commenting on the movie industry himself. It is very much his film and his performance underpins the proceedings.
Safe House (2012)
Before we start, I recollect that one well known UK critic described Safe House as sub-Tony Scott, upon its release. Now I’ve always been conflicted over Scott’s back catalogue, as I’ve always found his movies to be hampered by their own unique style. The subtleties of his characters and depth of his themes are all too often drowned out by his frenetic style and fast paced editing. Therefore a comment such as this really sets off alarm bells for me. Having recently watched The Equalizer 2, I wanted a further fix of Denzel Washington in a similar action vehicle. As Safe House was available on Netflix UK, I decided to kill a couple of hours and see what actually constitutes as “sub-Tony Scott”.
Get Your House in Order
Theoretically, the fallout from the Christchurch mass shooting should be far reaching. There is at present an opportunity to address numerous problems and issues while the tragedy still has both political and social momentum. Because “it is the doom of man that he forgets”. 24-hour news culture has severely strained the public’s attention span. Plus it is in the interests of numerous institutions for the news cycle to move on, because current scrutiny is highlighting how culpable they are. The tabloid press, media commentators, tech companies and internet communities have been found wanting for a while and last weeks carnage is now raising questions over their involvement in the growing culture of hate and therefore their potential regulation. This may be the last chance for many to put their own house in order before the establishment does. And considering the knee-jerk, ham-fisted nature of contemporary western politics, the latter is not likely to be either subtle, efficient or even beneficial.
Yet More Politics and Video Games
Setting aside Jim Sterling’s showmanship, which may not be to everyone’s taste, he is consistently astute in his ongoing analysis of the Triple A Video Games Industry. Today’s episode of the Jimquisition addresses how major publishers are using political and social issues as the basis for the plots of many of their most popular franchises, while simultaneously denying any political stance or affiliation. He highlights how Terry Spier (the creative director for Red Storm Entertainment who developed The Division 2), and David Cage (the writer and director of Detroit: Become Human), have tied themselves in knots claiming their games are apolitical. It makes for interesting viewing and as ever Sterling’s arguments are compelling and sound. Furthermore, it shows that all the vices and ethical failures of traditional leisure industries such as TV and movies, inevitably bleed into the video games. Namely, wanting to reference “grown up” subjects without being hampered by their accompanying baggage.
12 Years of Blogging
In March 2007 I had just started a new contract with Hewlett Packard working on a major office relocation for HM Land Registry. To cut a long story short there were quiet periods in-between the bouts of organised chaos and as I was desk bound, I decided to write a blog to maintain the illusion of being busy. I’ve always enjoyed writing so when the internet came along it seemed logical to use it as a platform. I created several HTML fan pages in the late nineties but when blogs started to become “a thing” I immediately jumped on that band wagon. Prior to 2007 I had created and abandoned several blogs, mainly because I couldn’t find the right subject to maintain my interest. However on this occasion, I decided to go with the old adage “write what you know” and chose to share my life long passion for movies. So I created an account with the now defunct platform of blog.co.uk, called my blog Did I Pay to See That? and have not stopped writing since.
Thoughts on Work Part 1
During the course of my career (1986 – 2016) I have worked in numerous complex social environments. I worked for the UK civil Service and saw the final days of very traditional, formal employment hierarchy. There were people with academic titles such as Doctor or Professor and there were also those with honorary monikers such as Sir. I even met an ex-army officer who clung to the old school etiquette of still being referred to by his former military rank (which was Captain). I was later employed at the London corporate headquarters of a global Indian company. It was fascinating to see the cultural differences along with the class structure and prevailing social dynamics. Over 30 years, I’ve worked for numerous high-profile organisations such as HP, Fujitsu Siemens and Symbian as well as other smaller businesses. All provided gainful employment, acceptable financial remuneration and an opportunity to learn more. However, all of them suffered from two of the most common faults found in contemporary employment; namely office politics and problematic members of staff.