Thinking a lot about art these days; not that that's unusual, mind, but some things have happened in the last few weeks that have brought the old question back to the fore front.
Those catalysts, other than the usual social morass, are the releases of Iron Man and Grand Theft Auto 4, and in a lesser capacity the demo for The Bourne Conspiracy which I just turned off for good.
I've been trying to lock down my opinion on GTA 4 into a few easily digestible sentences, but I can't quite hack it yet, so for the sake of this argument know that I think it's awesome, and important.
Scary, I know. I'll get back to that.
GTA came out Tuesday, and four days later Iron Man was released wide in theatres to a general belief in the movie industry that the sales of GTA would adversely impact Iron Man's gross. The evidence of this being the low ticket sales of the Ben Stiller/Farrelly Brothers "comedy" The Heartbreak Kid following the release of Halo 3. Kotaku seems content (pleased, really) to call this a myth considering how well Iron Man did, but it made me think about the divide between indie games and film.
Now I don't study film or gaming, but I do read and think about what I play and watch, (Obviously) and despite the easy-to-make comparisons between the two mediums, they really could not be more different. It is possible to take a video camera and make a movie; people do it all the time, but grabbing a Super 8 and trying to make something like Transformers for a budget of, say, Everyday Shooter is laughable, so indie filmmakers stick to making character dramas or easy comedies; essentially theatre with a moving eye and a cheap soundtrack and arguably capturing the very essence of film.
Cheap games don't work like that; indie game developers and modders face a labor of love similar to that of indie filmmakers, but with a generally narrower goal and budget, and just like the movies face distribution and licensing problems unless they can get a publishers attention.
So in one week, we have two highly-anticipated releases from both industries. GTA 4 was going to make money, a shit ton of it, regardless of it's quality; it's the next installment in a beloved and controversial franchise, the first on a current-gen system, and was developed by a team of people who know their work inside an out. Iron Man had a similar pedigree and, although the character doesn't have the same place in the public consciousness, superhero movies sell like hotcakes regardless of quality. (Especially in the first weekend) So we're staring at a tectonic battle between two juggernauts of money-making opportunity, and what happens? They both make money, and they're both pretty damned good.
Now Iron Man isn't perfect, but it is ridiculously entertaining, occasionally elevating itself to a higher form on the shoulders of its actors. While GTA is a more complex beast, when distilled to their cores both properties have a major thing in common: A team of talented, driven artists, experts in their fields, endeavoring to make the best product they can.
Both parties are certainly lucky; they were given time, and money, and many, many opportunities to cheap out but the fact that these two Blockbusters are able to actually produce a piece of effort worth experiencing more than once (In my case, for GTA, over fifteen hours worth of gameplay so far, twice the length of most modern single player stories) is really brightening, and ever-so-slightly diminishes my zeal to smash the obsidian ceiling looming above us and just start climbing the damn ladder.
Because, really, ignoring for once all the grime of the city and the world, watching Robert Downey (Fucking) Jr crack wise in a suit of armor painted the color of his hot rod after blowing up a tank with a missile the size of my finger, and then biking home in time to catch the sunset ride into Manhattan listening to Droppin' Science really does make everything okay.
But then it's time to come out of the bucket.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
'When you lose sight of your goals, that's when it gets you'
'Hmm?'
'Doubt, fear, insecurity; all that good stuff.'
'Good stuff? What the hell are you talking about?'
'We need our demons to push us forward, to shove us over the precipice into the fog below.'
'You sound like a dust jacket.'
'Hey, maybe that fog under the cliff is covering a river..'
'Yeah, and if you hit the river at that velocity you'll break both your legs, assuming there aren't any rocks or the water is so shallow you're dead before you realise you've hit something.'
'I'm just trying to paint a nice picture here.'
'Well cut it out, I've got work to do'
'Why don't you do it in your room?'
'...'
'You haven't been going in there very much these days.'
'I'd rather stay out here. It's brighter.'
'Told you.'
'In the daytime. At night I have to worry about tipping a candle over and burning the building down.'
'Don't you think that makes us move slower, take things easier and be more attentive?'
'I guess.'
'It sure does for me. Night's a good time for that.'
'I sleep at night, when I'm not working.'
'I noticed that. I barely sleep at all anymore.'
'I noticed that; seems like you're always awake.'
'And you're sleeping a lot more than you used to.'
'Between my jobs, it's all I've got.'
'You're not sleeping now.'
'...this is different.'
'Yeah. I know it is. How's Stephanie?'
'We broke up.'
'Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know.'
'Well I didn't tell you so...'
'When?'
'Last week.'
'Over the phone?'
'Yeah.'
'Why?'
'...'
'Why?'
'I really don't want to talk about her anymore.'
'Is it because of me?'
'Shut the fuck up.'
'Is it because of what we're doing?'
'WE aren't doing anything; this whole thing is your great fucking Work.'
'You know I'm doing this for you, as much as for myself.'
'Don't say that to me.'
'I just thought you could stand to relax.'
'I'm plenty relaxed.'
'Focus your attention on something else.'
'Seriously, let's not have this conversation now.'
'If not now, when?'
'Stop. Fucking. Saying that. Why is this so important to you? Why is me sitting on our kitchen floor with all of this, this... in front of me so god damned essential? You think this is RELAXING for me? You think I'm about the undergo some kind of massive revelation, birds in the sky and rainbows and the smell of pine and all that crap because you've had the same experience all on your own? Stop trying to help me, you're not helping me; you're saving your life at my expense and there is NO OTHER WAY of looking at it.'
'I...'
'Shut up. I'm working two jobs I hate, my social life has collapsed, I haven't even talked to my Mom in over a month because I can't pay any of my own bills. You're living both of our lives, our IDEAL lives as proposed by YOU, and I'm supporting us both. I've had to talk to the landlord three times about rent, three times in a row; I've scraped money from wherever I could get it, and we're barely making it. You think we don't have to go shopping because we've got tomato plants? That that little garden you've got on our balcony is going to completely remove our dependence on this city? How are we going to pay for power, to keep your little lights running all year round? When they outgrow their pots, where will we put them?'
'New pots.'
'From where?'
'I'll build some.'
'Out of what? Wood? Where will you get it? Ride your bike down to High Park and cut a tree down? We don't live in the fucking middle ages Robin; we can't just decide one day that we're going to ignore the rules we don't like and screw all of them that don't like it. There are consequences to shit like this man, and I'm carrying all of them.'
'Hmm?'
'Doubt, fear, insecurity; all that good stuff.'
'Good stuff? What the hell are you talking about?'
'We need our demons to push us forward, to shove us over the precipice into the fog below.'
'You sound like a dust jacket.'
'Hey, maybe that fog under the cliff is covering a river..'
'Yeah, and if you hit the river at that velocity you'll break both your legs, assuming there aren't any rocks or the water is so shallow you're dead before you realise you've hit something.'
'I'm just trying to paint a nice picture here.'
'Well cut it out, I've got work to do'
'Why don't you do it in your room?'
'...'
'You haven't been going in there very much these days.'
'I'd rather stay out here. It's brighter.'
'Told you.'
'In the daytime. At night I have to worry about tipping a candle over and burning the building down.'
'Don't you think that makes us move slower, take things easier and be more attentive?'
'I guess.'
'It sure does for me. Night's a good time for that.'
'I sleep at night, when I'm not working.'
'I noticed that. I barely sleep at all anymore.'
'I noticed that; seems like you're always awake.'
'And you're sleeping a lot more than you used to.'
'Between my jobs, it's all I've got.'
'You're not sleeping now.'
'...this is different.'
'Yeah. I know it is. How's Stephanie?'
'We broke up.'
'Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know.'
'Well I didn't tell you so...'
'When?'
'Last week.'
'Over the phone?'
'Yeah.'
'Why?'
'...'
'Why?'
'I really don't want to talk about her anymore.'
'Is it because of me?'
'Shut the fuck up.'
'Is it because of what we're doing?'
'WE aren't doing anything; this whole thing is your great fucking Work.'
'You know I'm doing this for you, as much as for myself.'
'Don't say that to me.'
'I just thought you could stand to relax.'
'I'm plenty relaxed.'
'Focus your attention on something else.'
'Seriously, let's not have this conversation now.'
'If not now, when?'
'Stop. Fucking. Saying that. Why is this so important to you? Why is me sitting on our kitchen floor with all of this, this... in front of me so god damned essential? You think this is RELAXING for me? You think I'm about the undergo some kind of massive revelation, birds in the sky and rainbows and the smell of pine and all that crap because you've had the same experience all on your own? Stop trying to help me, you're not helping me; you're saving your life at my expense and there is NO OTHER WAY of looking at it.'
'I...'
'Shut up. I'm working two jobs I hate, my social life has collapsed, I haven't even talked to my Mom in over a month because I can't pay any of my own bills. You're living both of our lives, our IDEAL lives as proposed by YOU, and I'm supporting us both. I've had to talk to the landlord three times about rent, three times in a row; I've scraped money from wherever I could get it, and we're barely making it. You think we don't have to go shopping because we've got tomato plants? That that little garden you've got on our balcony is going to completely remove our dependence on this city? How are we going to pay for power, to keep your little lights running all year round? When they outgrow their pots, where will we put them?'
'New pots.'
'From where?'
'I'll build some.'
'Out of what? Wood? Where will you get it? Ride your bike down to High Park and cut a tree down? We don't live in the fucking middle ages Robin; we can't just decide one day that we're going to ignore the rules we don't like and screw all of them that don't like it. There are consequences to shit like this man, and I'm carrying all of them.'
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
REVIEW: BURNOUT PARADISE: INCOMING IMPRESSIONS
After the modestly successful Mass Effect review a few months ago, I had been intending to do another, but honestly there hasn't been a release worth my time until recently.
Burnout: Paradise is the fifth entry into a series that has seen life across two console generations, but really the only one worth mentioning is Burnout 3: Takedown. Takedown was easily one of the best games of the last generation, and is currently downloadable as an Xbox Original alongside such superlative examples of game design and execution as Halo, Indigo Prophecy, and Golden-Idol-To-Gaming-Everywhere PSYCHONAUTS.
I played the demo of Paradise around New Years, so I know a little of what to expect. I know that the music and the announcer are going to be atrocious, and that the game boasts a new open world model and has removed the puzzle-like Crash events. I'm expecting speed, wicked awesome damage modeling, and the gleeful sense of recklessness that made Takedown such an honored member of my original Xbox library.
FIRST FIVE MINUTES
6:15 pm Weird sound sopping during logos. I didn't know Criterion had developed this as well, that's a good sign.
6:17 pm Instead of being assaulted by some scremo Fallout Boy-inspired jarkoff session upon loading, I'm welcomed by Guns n' Roses seminal anthem. It does raise the question though; if EA has the rights for this song, why the fuck isn't it in Rock Band?
6:20 Sultry intro video explaining that every race ends at one of eight key locations, all on a compass point. Not sure how I feel about that.
6:21 Progress in the game is done by acquiring new Licenses and, through them, new Cars. My license picture is my default Profile picture (Raz, from the aforementioned Golden Idol of Gaming) but if was one of the fifteen people with an Xbox Camera, I could use my own face. (Or balls) Also, I'm getting sick of Paradise City, the song, already.
6:26 My first song, once leaving the junkyard with my new wheels, is by LCD Soundsystem! A quick scan of the song list (Sorry, 'EA Trax' *shudder*) reveals Depeche Mode, Faith No More, and Soundgarden. Unfortunately they make up four songs in a 57 song list.
Mute.
Open iTunes.
Black Mountain.
6:32 My first event is.. I forget what it's called, but it involves taking out as many of my opponents as possible before time runs out, or they take me out enough times to permanently destroy my car. Events are started by pulling up to a set of lights and pulling both triggers, which is pretty cool. The handling of my first car isn't great, but that's to expected. Once I got back into the Burnout groove, it was like riding a bike again; speed and offensive driving are major, and the game has a very palpable risk/reward system. The crashes are highly satisfying when you cause them, and sickeningly sudden when you get taken out. Black Mountain rocks.
6:33 Oh yeah; when you complete an event, win or lose, the race just ends and you're dumped right where you were when time ran out, or you crossed the finish line, or whatever. Going through this game methodically getting every event and secret (Which is something I probably won't do) would be a huge pain in the ass.
6:45 Holy living fuck this game is fun!
7:01 Just had my first 'Showtime' event, which I guess is what the Crash mode from the other games turned into. Anytime when you're driving around, you can hold down both bumpers to go into 'Showtime' which basically allows you to control your flipping, spinning wreck along a major road, smashing into cars and using the A button to keep yourself going. Hitting buses and trucks, and smashing signs, gives you multipliers. I caused over $700,000 in just one run.
7:19 When you leave the controls alone for a few seconds, the games goes in to 'Picture mode' and the camera just sort of floats around the city, presenting Paradise City as a serene, beautiful place until your shit-tossing, flame eating, cock-for-brains friends come blasting through it at 120 mph like HEMI-powered chrome death engines riding jets of burning ethanol.
7:29 Just had a cool moment: During a race from the mountains down to the city I got pushed off the road and missed the entrance to a key tunnel that everyone else managed to get into. Since you can't quit mid-event, something I thought I would hate but now love, I had to find my way back onto the track through back roads and canals. When I finally did get back into the city, the race was still going on! I managed to come at the finish line from a totally different angle and win the race. Cool stuff.
7:32 Playing this game listening to the heavy metal mix Seann made for me is what dreams are made of; this is the reason fist-pumping was invented.
2:11 The Next Day: Just used my first 'Speed' class car. There seem to be three classes of cars, and each have different boost characteristics. Speed class cars can only use their boost when it's full, and if you use all of it at once, it fills right back up again allowing you to speed for about four times as long as the other car classes. Doing this in a 'Marked Man' event (Where you have to get to a checkpoint while four powerful cars try to take you out) I was going so fast I decided to sit up higher in my seat to see better.
After the modestly successful Mass Effect review a few months ago, I had been intending to do another, but honestly there hasn't been a release worth my time until recently.
Burnout: Paradise is the fifth entry into a series that has seen life across two console generations, but really the only one worth mentioning is Burnout 3: Takedown. Takedown was easily one of the best games of the last generation, and is currently downloadable as an Xbox Original alongside such superlative examples of game design and execution as Halo, Indigo Prophecy, and Golden-Idol-To-Gaming-Everywhere PSYCHONAUTS.
I played the demo of Paradise around New Years, so I know a little of what to expect. I know that the music and the announcer are going to be atrocious, and that the game boasts a new open world model and has removed the puzzle-like Crash events. I'm expecting speed, wicked awesome damage modeling, and the gleeful sense of recklessness that made Takedown such an honored member of my original Xbox library.
FIRST FIVE MINUTES
6:15 pm Weird sound sopping during logos. I didn't know Criterion had developed this as well, that's a good sign.
6:17 pm Instead of being assaulted by some scremo Fallout Boy-inspired jarkoff session upon loading, I'm welcomed by Guns n' Roses seminal anthem. It does raise the question though; if EA has the rights for this song, why the fuck isn't it in Rock Band?
6:20 Sultry intro video explaining that every race ends at one of eight key locations, all on a compass point. Not sure how I feel about that.
6:21 Progress in the game is done by acquiring new Licenses and, through them, new Cars. My license picture is my default Profile picture (Raz, from the aforementioned Golden Idol of Gaming) but if was one of the fifteen people with an Xbox Camera, I could use my own face. (Or balls) Also, I'm getting sick of Paradise City, the song, already.
6:26 My first song, once leaving the junkyard with my new wheels, is by LCD Soundsystem! A quick scan of the song list (Sorry, 'EA Trax' *shudder*) reveals Depeche Mode, Faith No More, and Soundgarden. Unfortunately they make up four songs in a 57 song list.
Mute.
Open iTunes.
Black Mountain.
6:32 My first event is.. I forget what it's called, but it involves taking out as many of my opponents as possible before time runs out, or they take me out enough times to permanently destroy my car. Events are started by pulling up to a set of lights and pulling both triggers, which is pretty cool. The handling of my first car isn't great, but that's to expected. Once I got back into the Burnout groove, it was like riding a bike again; speed and offensive driving are major, and the game has a very palpable risk/reward system. The crashes are highly satisfying when you cause them, and sickeningly sudden when you get taken out. Black Mountain rocks.
6:33 Oh yeah; when you complete an event, win or lose, the race just ends and you're dumped right where you were when time ran out, or you crossed the finish line, or whatever. Going through this game methodically getting every event and secret (Which is something I probably won't do) would be a huge pain in the ass.
6:45 Holy living fuck this game is fun!
7:01 Just had my first 'Showtime' event, which I guess is what the Crash mode from the other games turned into. Anytime when you're driving around, you can hold down both bumpers to go into 'Showtime' which basically allows you to control your flipping, spinning wreck along a major road, smashing into cars and using the A button to keep yourself going. Hitting buses and trucks, and smashing signs, gives you multipliers. I caused over $700,000 in just one run.
7:19 When you leave the controls alone for a few seconds, the games goes in to 'Picture mode' and the camera just sort of floats around the city, presenting Paradise City as a serene, beautiful place until your shit-tossing, flame eating, cock-for-brains friends come blasting through it at 120 mph like HEMI-powered chrome death engines riding jets of burning ethanol.
7:29 Just had a cool moment: During a race from the mountains down to the city I got pushed off the road and missed the entrance to a key tunnel that everyone else managed to get into. Since you can't quit mid-event, something I thought I would hate but now love, I had to find my way back onto the track through back roads and canals. When I finally did get back into the city, the race was still going on! I managed to come at the finish line from a totally different angle and win the race. Cool stuff.
7:32 Playing this game listening to the heavy metal mix Seann made for me is what dreams are made of; this is the reason fist-pumping was invented.
2:11 The Next Day: Just used my first 'Speed' class car. There seem to be three classes of cars, and each have different boost characteristics. Speed class cars can only use their boost when it's full, and if you use all of it at once, it fills right back up again allowing you to speed for about four times as long as the other car classes. Doing this in a 'Marked Man' event (Where you have to get to a checkpoint while four powerful cars try to take you out) I was going so fast I decided to sit up higher in my seat to see better.
WARDEN: BOOK 2: OPENING
Over the titles is the song 'Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung' by The Flaming Lips. It plays out fully.
Slow fade from black to the floor of a subway station in Toronto during the afternoon rush sliding away as the camera moves forward. Nearing the stairs, the perspective tilts up to eye-level while descending, settling in place as the train rolls up to the platform. The doors open and people spill out as the lyrics begin; one of the first to emerge is STEPHANIE, though she is treated like any other extra. At the end of the line of commuters is TYLER, in his street clothes, moving nonchalantly. We slide in behind him as he climbs the stairs, with STEPHANIE in view but out of focus in the distance.
As Tyler clears the underground, we swing around to place his profile on the left third as the music crashes (At 1:35) and the title appears: WARDEN.
The camera leaves TYLER behind and moves its way through the crowd filtering out of the station, keeping him in focus until STEPHANIE fills the right third and we focus on her. It should be clear now that TYLER is following her, and as the song goes on we drift lazily between pedestrians, alternating between TYLER's back, hands, and feet as her follows her down every street, around every corner; and STEPHANIE's eyes, mouth, and arms, oblivious to his attention.
The pursuit is interspersed with shots of the city at that time, mid-winter, clear and cold and grey but full of life.
As the song ends, (around 3:36) STEPHANIE arrives at home and TYLER stops on the other side of the street. We wander back to hm, where he has pulled out a notebook and recorded her journey. At 4:12, he puts it away and we FTB.
Over the titles is the song 'Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung' by The Flaming Lips. It plays out fully.
Slow fade from black to the floor of a subway station in Toronto during the afternoon rush sliding away as the camera moves forward. Nearing the stairs, the perspective tilts up to eye-level while descending, settling in place as the train rolls up to the platform. The doors open and people spill out as the lyrics begin; one of the first to emerge is STEPHANIE, though she is treated like any other extra. At the end of the line of commuters is TYLER, in his street clothes, moving nonchalantly. We slide in behind him as he climbs the stairs, with STEPHANIE in view but out of focus in the distance.
As Tyler clears the underground, we swing around to place his profile on the left third as the music crashes (At 1:35) and the title appears: WARDEN.
The camera leaves TYLER behind and moves its way through the crowd filtering out of the station, keeping him in focus until STEPHANIE fills the right third and we focus on her. It should be clear now that TYLER is following her, and as the song goes on we drift lazily between pedestrians, alternating between TYLER's back, hands, and feet as her follows her down every street, around every corner; and STEPHANIE's eyes, mouth, and arms, oblivious to his attention.
The pursuit is interspersed with shots of the city at that time, mid-winter, clear and cold and grey but full of life.
As the song ends, (around 3:36) STEPHANIE arrives at home and TYLER stops on the other side of the street. We wander back to hm, where he has pulled out a notebook and recorded her journey. At 4:12, he puts it away and we FTB.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
I was just lying in bed thinking about how I don't write enough anymore, and how I really should.
I'm not usually accustomed to making New year's Resolutions, due mostly to my disdain for the public fad, but if I did that would have been one of them, so here you go.
After reading a comic in a McSweeney's book about a woman looking for her aborted fetus in the stars, I went outside to smoke the last in a pack of Belmonts I bought on Tuesday and to look at space, but it's overcast and unseasonably warm and I didn't see much of it. I started to think about my program bio for the summer show, of all things, and that brought me back up here to get everything out of my head and into some kind of permanency.
I've been thinking a lot about (what) PB (said) a few weeks ago, about how everything I write in a Facebook note will be read, that people actually do troll their friends' pages in an effort to make it through the day while simultaneously making an effort to connect with people they think they know and love.
I'm not going to link to this because my online journal has gotten me into realine trouble in the past, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I really need some kind of outlet and I'm sick of writing fiction.
I've just gotten this idea of writing real life paper and ink letters to Mom, in an effort to get to know the real her in a way I've only begun to do in the last few years. I don't want her advice, I just want to think of her as a real person; think of it as the first step in my attempts to broaden my understanding of Those Who Aren't Me.
I told Alex Rayment today that I would prefer to just listen to myself in conversation all day, but frequently I find myself the least interesting person in the room, and that's what False Resolution #2 is all about. I've decided that I've no excuse anymore to not do what I want to do except for my own fears, and really what are those anyhow?
I worry that people won't like me, that they'll tell their friends to steer clear of me, and I know that this has happened but why do I care about that? I need to become more clear of myself, and be happier with what I do, and part of that is to not make horrible, pig-headed decisions. I'm getting much better about not hurting people, but only with strangers. I'm much more likely to hurt the people I love than the people who I've not had a chance to love, and that's just not right.
Stop talking, start doing.
And don't worry about her; she's more like you than you want to admit.
I'm not usually accustomed to making New year's Resolutions, due mostly to my disdain for the public fad, but if I did that would have been one of them, so here you go.
After reading a comic in a McSweeney's book about a woman looking for her aborted fetus in the stars, I went outside to smoke the last in a pack of Belmonts I bought on Tuesday and to look at space, but it's overcast and unseasonably warm and I didn't see much of it. I started to think about my program bio for the summer show, of all things, and that brought me back up here to get everything out of my head and into some kind of permanency.
I've been thinking a lot about (what) PB (said) a few weeks ago, about how everything I write in a Facebook note will be read, that people actually do troll their friends' pages in an effort to make it through the day while simultaneously making an effort to connect with people they think they know and love.
I'm not going to link to this because my online journal has gotten me into realine trouble in the past, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I really need some kind of outlet and I'm sick of writing fiction.
I've just gotten this idea of writing real life paper and ink letters to Mom, in an effort to get to know the real her in a way I've only begun to do in the last few years. I don't want her advice, I just want to think of her as a real person; think of it as the first step in my attempts to broaden my understanding of Those Who Aren't Me.
I told Alex Rayment today that I would prefer to just listen to myself in conversation all day, but frequently I find myself the least interesting person in the room, and that's what False Resolution #2 is all about. I've decided that I've no excuse anymore to not do what I want to do except for my own fears, and really what are those anyhow?
I worry that people won't like me, that they'll tell their friends to steer clear of me, and I know that this has happened but why do I care about that? I need to become more clear of myself, and be happier with what I do, and part of that is to not make horrible, pig-headed decisions. I'm getting much better about not hurting people, but only with strangers. I'm much more likely to hurt the people I love than the people who I've not had a chance to love, and that's just not right.
Stop talking, start doing.
And don't worry about her; she's more like you than you want to admit.
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