Gaming Under The Influence

Gaming Under the Influence @ Green Dragon CVR with Mike + Alex; Developers out of 343 Industries have recently offered insight into why they believe “games are harder to make these days”[i]. Amongst the items on their list of reasons are enhanced technical expectations and the intricacies of running, updating or maintaining online games. Not one of these things is integral to a good game; this serves as a list of features proper to many games precisely as bad.

Alex & Mike revisit the status of games as art. Recent conversations on the subject have evoked Ebert, who answered in the negative, citing a lack of worthwhile subject matter comparable to great works of other mediums & of authorial control resulting from player freedom. Meanwhile others have said video games are a “synthesis” of all the fine arts, as though a methodology, skillset or choice of expressive matter settled the question. We opine both are wrong & for the same reason: each describes only [a facet of] the matter of potential video game art and of art generally, failing to specify its essence formal element. Listen (or read on) for i) an explanation of art according to Maritain's Art & Scholasticism [in the tradition of Aristotle, Aquinas & the Thomists]; ii) to learn why, according to this definition, video games are the most advanced phase of artistic representation.

Join Alex & Mike at GreenDragonCVR for a casual discussion of Live A Live, The Ascent & Observer: System Redux. Touching on the history of Live Alive before its publication in the West circa 2022; the excellent cyberpunk worldbuilding of Neon Giant's The Ascent; the cyberpunk pessimism of Bloober Team's Observer: System Redux. Including a definition of cyberpunk fiction's essential concern.

Join Alex & Mike at GreenDragonCVR to discuss the point of completing video games. Is the point of a game to see the end of its narrative? Is finishing a game necessary to “understanding” or appreciating it? We argue that, since we engage with the sensible & narrative aspects of the work to penetrate its “creative concept”, these aspects are instruments to an end. If the concept has been comprehended (or worse, found wanting) further pursuit of the instruments of its expression is for no purpose relevant to artistic contemplation.

Join Alex & Mike at GreenDragonCVR for a discussion of the ‘political' nature of video games. Must games exhibit political content? Is there such a thing as neutrality? Is it really about ‘politics' or a deeper view held by the artist concerning reality & human nature (which politics derives from)? We propose that all art, since conceived from a human vantage, will necessarily convey the artist's view of human nature & reality (& resultantly, politics); this not as a pamphlet containing a list of statements, but as a particular instantiating a universal.

Join Alex & Mike at GreenDragonCVR for a discussion of the evolution of Final Fantasy, as well as the end of V Rising. Alex has finished the first Final Fantasy game from 1987; with his insight, the boys draw comparisons to more recent series entires. Mike relates his experiences with V Rising's endgame, building systems & fiction.

Join Alex & Mike at GreenDragonCVR for a look back at weirdest, most interesting games of Summer Game Fest 2022. Highlights include Bear & Breakfast, Nightingale, Zenless Zone, Choo Choo Charles & Planet of Lana.

Mike & Alex were impressed by the recent Final Fantasy XVI trailer. Tune in this week for a discussion of how XVI returns well-known Final Fantasy ‘summons' to a position of fictional prominence, as well as the XVI gameplay mechanics depicted in the trailer.

Another conversation this week on V Rising, including on Tencent's involvement. Mike & Alex also discuss RPGs, Final Fantasy IX again, and the possibility of Final Fantasy XVI's appearance at this week's State of Play.

This week Mike & Alex discuss the media's shifting opinions on Game Pass: a sacred cow has been torn down, with varied outlets lining up to take pot shots at what they had advertised for free months ago. Also including a discussion of V Rising & the addictive nature of survival games: what is it that makes them such an engaging experience? Have the boys come to prefer them over sacred cows of their own (JRPGs & souslikes)?

Join us this week for a discussion of combat in video games: does it have to be in everything? Why are there so few games whose core loop consists of anything else? What is the perfect synthesis between depicted content and varied activity in a video game?

Gaming Under the Influence @ Green Dragon CVR with Mike + Alex; Join us for a preliminary opinion on the Stream Deck & a discussion of Elden Ring's endgame.

Join us this week for a discussion of some lesser-known titles launching in the spring of 2022 | PS5, Switch, PC

The Ghostwire: Tokyo episode. This week Mike & Alex delve into the many fantastic aspects of Tango's recent game, touching on themes, worldbuilding, traversing the open world & the virtue of shorter video game experiences.

Mike & Alex are back with another casual conversation on the state of games in early 2022. Topics include early impressions of Strangers of Paradise, Salt and Sacrifice Beta, microtransactions and always online requirements in Gran Turismo 7

Mike & Alex spoke a month ago concerning the possibility that 2022 would be the best year ever for video games as a medium of artistic expression. The wild success of Elden Ring has shown this to be the case; while live service games launch to critical & commercial failure, From's latest work has set records on metacritic & continues to top sales charts. Tune in this week for a causal conversation concerning what this signifies for the “industry” as a material cause for the creation of video game art.

Mike & Alex have a casual conversation about Strangers of Paradise FF Origin & difficulty settings in soulslike games, as well as their progress through Elden Ring.

Mike & Alex talk more about Elden Ring, while also exploring the highs & lows of Gran Turismo 7. Topics include our progress through ER, the circumscriptive simulation gameplay of GT7, its microtransactions & always online play.

So what the f*ck is going on in Elden Ring? Join Mike & Alex for an explanation of the history & events of the game. We describe characters, entities & the metaphysical themes present here that have reoccurred in all of Miyazaki's games.

Elden Ring actuates possibilities latent in the soulslike genre & the form of movement it conveys. The circumscriptive melee combat & traversal that characterize the series have been employed to symbolize new modes of engaging with the vast world from has built here (mounted combat and increasing mastery of the expansive map via fast travel and healing refills are our central concerns) And what a world it is: as with the best souls games, a world rendered derelict by the contravention of natural order is the centerpiece here. The metaphysical questions of alterity and sameness prove to be Miyazaki's eternal preoccupations. The Lands Between are were wracked by the Shattering, a revolution of parts against the whole, demigods against the order of their divine parentage. The cosmos falls apart, Elden conveys, when the finite seeks to dictate a new order & universality premised only on its finite subject-position. The subsequent absorption of difference by sameness is explosive & horrific (Godrick).

2022 is on track to be one of the best years ever for the video game medium, with single-player releases scheduled from many of the best developers across genres & budgets. Join Mike and Alex for a look at currently-available titles like Pokemon Legends Arceus & Dying Light 2, as well as a dive into what is coming next.

Welcome to GUI episode 115! Today we'll describe the inner logic and implicit ontology of evergreen/zombie brands, streaming and the metaverse. All appear built on a univocal or homogenous conception of being. The future they envision is dead on arrival insofar as its template of what is to come is based entirely on sameness, the past.

Who ever thought they would enjoy another zombie game? This week Alex & Mike discuss the pleasant surprise that is Dying Light 2. Against our expectations, there is lots to love here. Well-written & acted, beautifully animated & featuring top-notch traversal mechanics, we find ourselves pleased to be back in a zombie game.

Alex & Mike finally get their hands on Pokemon Legends: Arceus and are pleasantly surprised with the result. Gamefreak has managed to successfully shake up the Pokemon formula by modifying the core concept and gameplay loop of the game, creating something almost entirely new.

This week the boys at Green Dragon CVR are surprised to hear about Microsoft's acquisition of Activision & Blizzard. Mike & Alex discuss the implications of this deal and what it means for the future of the Xbox brand. Spoiler alert: probably nothing as Call of Duty will surely march on as a yearly release. We remain hopeful for something new perhaps, cheers.

Mike and Alex are back for the first episode of 2022. With no interesting releases on the horizon for the next few weeks, an eclectic conversation ensues. Topics include Shin Megami V, Pokemon Arceus, Elden Ring and the fact that Miyazaki does not play his own games.

The first months of 2022 will see some noteworthy games release that Mike & Alex discuss this week. Pokemon Legends: Arceus will express the core concepts of the franchise in novel gameplay mechanics. Likewise for Final Fantasy: Strangers of Paradise, the first soulslike Final Fantasy. Elden Ring hardly needs introduction. Also discussed this week: the special merits of the soulslike genre, the difficulty of committing to certain games.

There were plenty of interesting games announced at the Game Awards this year. Join Mike & Alex for ‘Gaming Under the Influence” E.107 to discuss the most interesting titles that appeared at the show. Also featuring some information about the developers involved & why their previous work gives us cause to celebrate each project.

This week the boys at Green Dragon discuss their wants & expectations for the game awards. What games are missing from the list of nominees? Which titles do we think deserve recognition in the most prominent categories? What announcements can we look forward to? Should the Game Awards “take a stand” against Activision?

It astounds the boys at Green Dragon that Cyberpunk 2077 is receiving praise a year after its release. This week we get right back into all the reasons why Cyberpunk is an excellent game, delving into the distinction between the form vs matter of a work of art. Also featuring a discussion of how Cyberpunk treats the individuation of the human intellect by matter.

JRPGs are back on the menu! This week Alex & Mike discuss the deep-rooted similarities between Shin Megami & Pokemon . Starting with the obvious turn-based combat, human-decentered parties & character collection, then proceeding into a discussion of the common cosmological concern behind both games, concealed by the outward guise of child vs adult orientation.

The game awards nominees for 2021 have prompted us to summarize the tendencies we routinely speak against on this show. The issue reduces to a liberal vs integralist stance on art (and resultantly games)...

This week Alex describes his early experiences with Battlefield 2042. The boys revisit the easy mode debate: mechanics & systems should express the inner logic of the work, if this pleases players or not. A few details on our ongoing Valheim server.

This week Mike & Alex talk about the impact of Xbox Game Pass on the sale of third party games to answer the question: “what is the impact of subscription services on video game art”? It appears that consumers within subscription ecosystems are no longer convinced of [“commutative justice”,] paying a proportionate price for a good or service. The indirect impact on video game art is obvious: will creators be able to finance traditional works and flourish in order to produce more?

This week the boys ramble through their experiences with Valheim and the newly-released N64 emulators, all in order to answer the question: “how should the old be conveyed in the new”? Valheim iterates on a formula originated by Minecraft, with elements from soulslike and adventure games, to construct a new kind of thing, while Nintendo has simply enabled access to their intellectual property by new means.

In the wake of Metroid Dread, Mike & Alex discuss the enduring merits of the decades-old metroidvania progression style. The argument: 2D adventure games with metroidvania progression are innately suitable for developers with limited experience & resources alongside strong artistic abilities & a well-conceived world. Metroidvania also scales well to larger budgets & diverse art styles, potentially even 3D perspective, due to the universality of its conceits. It even encourages remote community participation, a sort of “extrinsic multiplayer”, in wiki culture.

Caught up with Valheim & older titles, Mike & Alex have already added a pile of recent releases to their backlogs. Tune in this week for a discussion of the most interesting games you may have missed in 2021 and why they are worth playing. Also features a more detailed discussion of Valheim's special appeal: this is a game that synthesizes the radical possibilities of the survival genre (often lacking a meaningful goal, purposefulness) with circumscriptive soulslike combat against titanic bosses and hands-off storytelling about cosmic stakes.

Our discourse on the best games of all time has been forcibly interrupted by Valheim. This week the Green Dragon crew works towards a theory of survival games, specifying their appeal as a world building medium. We posit that the up-front fixation on the dialectic between player and environment makes the “inner logic” of created worlds the “remote or subject matter” of the genre (instead of individual personalities and human tensions in, say, TLoU2-style adventure games).

In response to IGNs recent treatment of the “best game of all time”, the boys at GreenDragonCVR return to the fundamental topic of why exactly games qualify as [one of the] “most advanced phase[s] of poetic depiction”. We will return next week with an alternative list, based on the criteria we articulate in this episode, of the best games of all time.

Alex & Mike persist with their discussion of Tales of Arise, this week expanding on the topics introduced last episode. Topics include the genre-literate design of the early zones & combat, the sincerity of Japanese video game story telling & how Tales of Arise engages with capitalism in a manner that puts Western game journalism about “politics” to shame.

Alex & Mike are pleasantly surprised by Tales of Arise. Conveyed by innovative and beautiful animation, a lean progression system and circumscriptive action combat, a high fantasy world on par with any [more expensive] genre peer has got the boys hooked. Tune in this week for a deep dive into the systems & world of Tales of Arise based on the first third of the game.

Mike & Alex return to a style of video game they have no small measure of conflicted feelings about: open-world action-rpgs. Alex returns to Ghosts of Tsushima & Mike to Maneater to check out the DLC for both titles. Concludes with an explanation of the particular appeal of open-world progression styles: without the punctuation & demands of other games like Souls (with taxing combat) or JRPGs (with complex systems to manipulate), they convey grand gestures of worldbuilding.

Mike & Alex discuss the last great western video game genre: classical or western rpgs. If, as we have previously discussed, the rpg genre definitionally represents the conduct of intelligent life in fiction, the western rpg (in contradistiction to the deterministic jrpg) does so in-deterministically, affording the player political and social agency over the course of the game world

Mike & Alex discuss potential games to pursue amidst the great summer game drought of 2021. Touching on Final Fantasy X, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Biomutant etc.

We have come to this year's ‘great summer game drought'. In the absence of any new releases captivating us, Mike & Alex delve back into their backlogs. Discussions range from the necessity of ‘sense of place' in worldbuilding; the capacity of difficult games to transpose the player into the alterity of his ritual identity; the weird & wonderful world/art of Grime; Far Cry Primal as a masterful gesture of worldbuilding & the best Far Cry.

Mike & Alex discuss the vast discrepancy between Western journalistic reactions to recent scandals at Activision and the Chinese government's reported disdain for the predatory style of games peddled by Tencent. While the West demands superficial “change” that would leave brutal fundamental structures in tact, the CPC appears to target the very economic bases of exploitative game design. Alex also explains the over-gameyness of Skyward Sword: how the insertion of burdensome, arbitrary mechanics impedes player attunement with the concept of the game. Lastly a few words on Grime, a fantastic and beautiful new Soulslike.

This week Mike & Alex return to the most basic element of a game - it's [self-justifying or autotelic] world, hopefully expressed in a gameplay loop that facilitates instead of inhibiting its clarity. Last week Subnautica was a refreshing escape from the overbearing psychological motivations we are required to empathize with in many third-person story games; this week, the single-player campaign of Stacraft the first does the same. Also featuring a discussion of the special merits of the survivial genre & our enthisuaism for Evil Genius II.

After being dragged by the nape through the meandering and uninteresting personal/psychological motivations of most protagonists in most games born in the West the past generation, Mike & Alex delve into two games unburdened by the trappings of western AAA. Subnautica BZ: in search of her lost sister, an ex-corpo becomes infested by an alien consciousness, proceeds to research the inner logic of an aquatic ecosystem & evade death at the maw of leviathans 900m deep. Starcraft I Single Player Campaign: A galactic empire beset by a dictatorship is further afflicted by the emergence of a spy-become-alien queen. Does the multiplayer justify this or the inverse?

What do space Bezos, the easy mode debate, “professionalism” and game pass have in common? In all these we witness the celebration of the instrument-in-itself. What was once [at least purportedly] a means to an end becomes the goal, purpose, satisfaction; money and gratuitous expenditure for its own sake, the raw physical act of gaming in violation of its formal causes, cheap games, whatever they are. A party line coheres to protect the immanent eschaton, the functioning and discharge of the “every day” in and for itself.

Mike & Alex back at it featuring a discussion about the "new Sony" and their uninspiring first party offerings as of late + the general state of the medium in summer 2021. What no one wants to hear: Sony kinda sucks now, 

GUI Live & Unleashed | July 6, 2021: Featuring a discussion of the souls genre and souls like games.  A common favorite around these parts. Cheers.